Four Christmases they never had (and the one they did)
by illseeyouthrough
Summary: OQ Secret Santa '14: Mostly AU Christmas stories of our favourite Outlaw and his Queen. Spanning all worlds and ages; it's just a fun, fluffy with a lil' bit of smut kind of holiday tale! Made for sassgina-and-awesomehood (over at Tumblr).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is made for sassgina-and-awesomehood (over at Tumblr) for the OQ Secret Santa '14. Hope you enjoy! (Oh, and yes...this is only part one. More to come!)**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Four Christmases they never had (and the one they did)<strong>

_Chapter One_

"What do you mean you've never had a Christmas tree?" eleven-year old Robin asked his friend, Regina, as they walked home from school.

"I mean," she said, adjusting the straps of her backpack, "Well, my mother doesn't care much for celebrations…so, we just don't do the holidays."

"No over-eating on Christmas dinner? No stocking? No milk and cookies for Santa? No presents?" Robin continued, looking more and more incredulous at each question, "What are you going to do with the ornaments we made in class this year?"

"Dad gets me a gift on my birthday," Regina replies easily, keeping her gaze on the sidewalk. "And I can just put the ornaments in a drawer or something. It doesn't really matter."

"Of course it matters!"

She shakes her head, stopping right beside the gate to their house. "It doesn't," she repeats (and Robin thinks, _it should_), then tilting her head towards her home, she continues, "Well, this is me."

Robin glances at Regina's home – well, mansion is a more accurate description – and at the obvious lack of any lights or twinkling decorations.

When they'd first moved in to this town, he thought this house was a palace and when he saw Regina, he was even more convinced of that fact – for where else do princesses lived? But as they had become friends, Robin realized that Regina wasn't really treated like a princess; her mother was less like a Queen (more like an Evil Queen) – and apparently, she's a Grinch, too.

Robin sighs then, and just nods his head due to her resigned expression. "Fine. I'll see you at school tomorrow, then," he says to her, giving her a smile.

"Yup," she nods, opening their gate quickly and stepping inside, "See you then." And with one last wave, she jogged up their walk and into the front door.

Robin continued on down the sidewalk, mind still reeling, to his own home about four houses down. Now, his house looked like a bonafide Christmas card, bright and twinkling.

Walking in through the side door leading to the kitchen, he was immediately greeted by his mother, "Hey honey, how was school?"

"It was fine, Mum," Robin replies automatically, dropping his backpack on a dining room chair and opening the fridge.

"Just fine?" she presses.

And Robin nods vehemently, surveying the contents of their refrigerator finally decided on grabbing an apple for a snack.

"Alright, then," his mother says tentatively, seeing her so so deep in thought. Then she adds, "Oh, your Uncle John is waiting for you at the park…he said something about…"

Robin's eyes light up then, suddenly remembering his uncle promising him that he'd finish the toboggan today, so that it'll be ready for use during the holidays. "Thanks, Mom," he replies, already grabbing his coat again, and began to dash out the door.

"Wear your hat," his mother reminds him, "And be on time for dinner."

"Yeah, Mum," Robin replied, tugging on his toque before finally leaving out the door.

Robin runs the rest of the way to the nearby park, he spies his uncle's car in the parking lot and walks quickly to their usual meeting spot by a large oak tree. Sure enough, just as he rounded a bend, he sees his uncle – all tall and burly – brandishing a brand-new toboggan lying there on the snow.

"Robin, my boy," Uncle John cried out. "There you are!"

"Oh wow," Robin says, giving his uncle a high five, as he checked out his new sled. "Uncle John, this is awesome."

"Yeah, it is," the big man replies, "But it'll be even more awesome if you'd actually give it a test run." He points to the large hill in the middle of the park, "Come on, and let's give it a go."

The two make their way to the hill, trudging up the snowy path to their destination. Once there, Robin takes in his surroundings as his uncle places the toboggan at the ready.

The boy stared in wonder at the sight before him, he felt like he could see the whole town from this spot – sure enough, there was his house and of course, Regina's mansion of a home.

_Regina. _Suddenly, Robin's mind went back to their earlier conversation – he still couldn't fathom what not celebrating Christmas would be like (not to mention, not having a Christmas tree or presents!). His mind was reeling, and then he's squinting – now, Robin was quite sure that Regina's bedroom window faced the park; in fact, she could probably see him atop this hill if she'd been watching.

Then he's smiling, and looking back at the rows of evergreen trees that lined this top of the hill. Oh boy, did he have an idea!

"Earth to Robin," Uncle John said, waving his hand in front of his nephew's face – who was currently just staring off into the distance, "Robin!"

Robin snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his uncle. "Uncle John, I need your help!"

"I thought we were tobogganing," the man said to his nephew.

"We will," Robin says, "but first…well, you see I have this friend. Her –"

"Her?" Uncle John repeats, his voice teasing and his eyes holding a mischievous glint.

"Uncle John," Robin cries out. "I'm being serious. She told me today that she's never once had a Christmas tree…I mean, there's got to be some law against that or something."

"So," his uncle replies, "what do you propose we do? Cut down a tree and decorate it in her front yard?"

Robin shakes his head, "I don't think her mother would allow that. I was thinking of something else – "

* * *

><p>The next day, Robin jogs towards Regina during recess.<p>

"Hey!" she greets, "Where have you been all morning?"

"I had a thing to do, so my Mum just wrote a note to Ms. Nolan about why I couldn't be here," he replies, smiling at her.

"What did you have to do?" she asks, grabbing a carrot from her lunchbox and munching on it as they sat on a bench.

"Just something," Robin replies back.

"Okay," Regina nods her head slowly, her eyes suspicious and curious. Then she shrugs, "Fine, don't tell me." And then she's reaching into her backpack and revealing a small box – adorned by a red ribbon on top. "Here," she says, handing it to Robin. "Merry Christmas!"

"I thought you didn't do the holidays," Robin says, tentatively holding his present.

"I said my Mother didn't do the holidays," Regina clarifies, "Plus, it's nothing, really. I just thought you'd like it." She smiles, "Go on, and open it!"

"Shouldn't I wait till Christmas day?"

"Don't you want to open it?"

Robin beams then, and nods his head eagerly. He rips the box open and gasps, "Is it real?"

"Yeah," Regina says, watching as he examines the arrow head. "My dad brought it back from one of his hunting trips."

"This is so cool," Robin tells her, and then reaches into his own backpack and pulls out his own present for her. "I got you something, too."

Regina smiles, taking the box. "My first Christmas present," she whispers quietly, biting her lower lip.

Robin practically glows at her reaction. "Don't open it here," he says then, watching as she almost tore the wrapper.

"Why not?"

"Later, when you get home," he says, "Say at around eight o'clock?"

"There's a specific time?"

"Yes, Regina," Robin replies, "Trust me, sometimes it's all about the timing."

Before she could reply, the school bell rings, and they both hurry back to class.

* * *

><p>Regina excused herself politely after dinner, making her way to her room just a little before eight o'clock. To say she was curious about Robin's present would be an understatement.<p>

Glancing at her closed door first, Regina finally retrieves said present from where she'd hidden it under her bed. Very curious, she shakes it a little – well, it wasn't empty. Looking at the clock, she sighs determinedly – yes, she was opening it now.

Ripping the festive green wrapper off the box, Regina opens it quickly – frowning at what she saw inside. "Binoculars?" she questions out loud. "Why would Robin give me this?"

As she lifts the item from the box, she sees it's engraved: PROPERTY OF JOHN LITTLE. _He'd given her his uncle's binoculars_, Regina thought, _why?_

Suddenly, she spies a piece of paper lying at the bottom of the box; it was a note, reading:

_Dear Regina,_

_Yes, they are binoculars…and yes, they are my uncle's (so it's kind of a loan)._

_Don't worry, they're not your actual present – it's just a tool you'd need to see your Christmas gift._

_Look out the window, towards the big hill at the park._

_Happy Christmas!_

_Robin_

"Look out the window?" she mumbles to herself. Standing from her perch on her bed, she makes her way to the giant bay window facing the direction of the park.

She frowns slightly, squinting at the hill at first. Sighing, she finally brings the binoculars up to her eyes and she gasps.

There, atop the hill, she could see the once mundane evergreen trees now wrapped in glowing tinsel, ornaments and twinkling lights. **Christmas trees!** Not even just one – but a whole row of them! The view was filled with so much happiness and joy – it just, it all looked magical! That must be what he was doing all morning; and probably all of last night. Although she's never decorated one, Regina could assume decorating a Christmas tree probably took some time.

Still on the binoculars, Regina tries desperately to see if she could spot Robin (she was almost sure he would be there, jumping up and down or something) – she spies movement on the hill but all she could make out was Robin's uncle's truck, Robin's uncle, and a bunch of electrical extension cords coming from the vehicle.

Suddenly, she hears a loud thwack. Lowering the binoculars, Regina spies the offending sound to be from a snowball being thrown lightly at her window. Opening the window now, she shivers slightly at the cold breeze before looking down to see Robin – standing there and smiling up at her.

She smiles back, and says, "A Christmas tree?"

"Not just a Christmas tree," he replies, "A dozen of them, for each year you should've had one and well, one for next year, too!" He rubs his mitted hands together, smile still on his face, "Well, I can't really take all the credit, my Uncle John did help a lot."

"Tell him thank you for me, then," Regina says. "And I'll give back his binoculars…eventually."

He nods, "Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding?" she says, "It's…it's perfect. The best Christmas present I've ever gotten."

"It's the only Christmas present you've ever gotten," he replies back, teasingly.

"Well, that certainly helped put it at the top of the list," she retorts back, wittily.

He beams, his dimples deep on his cheeks.

Regina sighs then, "Thank you, Robin! This…you…it's amazing!"

"Happy Christmas, Regina!" he says to her.

"Merry Christmas, Robin!" she says back.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is the second part of my gift for sassgina-and-awesomehood. Sorry for the wait, hope you (and all the other readers) enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Four Christmases they never had (and the one they did)<strong>

_Chapter Two_

Regina sighed, absentmindedly thumbing through the diner's menu – why she thought going out to a restaurant **alone** on Christmas day would be a better idea than sitting at home (albeit, she would've been starving) was now beyond her.

But at least at home, no one would be giving her pity glances – which is all she's gotten from that one waitress she'd seen and all the other occupants of this diner. Honestly, she was a little peeved. _They were all eating __out__ on a day that should be spent at home with their families_, Regina thought,_ surely they're all experiencing some mishaps today._ Then Regina frowns, because even if that was the case, she's the only here experiencing that mishap alone.

"Are you ready to order, ma'am?"

The sudden appearance of the too-tight of a shirt waitress (Ruby, her name was) almost made Regina jump from her seat – _gosh, was there no dress code in this diner..._ _and 'ma'am', really?_

But she gives the young lady a tight-lipped smile, "Uh, sure…I'll have the turkey sandwich on rye with honey mustard and curly fries on the side. Extra ketchup."

"And to drink?"

"Oh," Regina ponders, "umm…I'll take your apparently world-famous chocolate milkshake."

"Oh," the waitress says then, "it actually is the best…are you from around these parts?"

"Yes," Regina says, a not-too-real-smile still plastered on her face, "I actually live a couple of blocks away…I just…I don't get out too much." Or she does get out plenty, but she was just currently trying to avoid going to places where she might know people…pity from strangers she could handle, but it'll be worse from people she actually knew (but Ruby didn't need to know that).

"Oh," Ruby says again. "Okay then, well I'll get your order ready."

Regina nods, "That will be great. Also, where's your restroom?"

"Through the corridor there, and then down the stairs to your left."

"Thank you," Regina replies, standing from her perch on the barstool of the diner's counter to make her way to the ladies room.

Once in said corridor, Regina fishes her cellphone from her purse; choosing a familiar name on her contact list, she hits dial and waited through the ringing. She wasn't expecting an answer, of course, but she did want to leave a message:

"Hey, honey," Regina says to the phone, "it's Mom. Uhm…I just wanted to greet you Merry Christmas again. I know we spoke last night but that was technically Christmas Eve. (Pause.) Anyway…I hope you're having a great day. I miss you and I can't wait to see you. I love you, Henry."

With that said, she sighed; putting the phone back into her purse, she continued on her way down the corridor.

* * *

><p>The door of the diner dings open and Robin walks into the familiar setting. He smiles at some of the familiar patrons and leans over the counter, calling out, "Ruby! Oh, Ruby!"<p>

Receiving no response, Robin sets his eyes on the plate just sitting there on the counter – he walks over to it and grins, promptly sitting himself on the stool and grabbing some fries off the plate.

A couple of minutes pass, Robin has already taken two big bites of the sandwich and a big gulp of the chocolate milkshake when Ruby finally saunters out of the kitchen, a brown bag in hand.

"Robin," she says, "what are you doing?"

"Ruby!" Robin greets, swallowing his recent bite quickly. Then he gestures to his meal, "I thought I ordered all this to go."

Ruby sighs, setting the brown bag in front of him, "You did." Then she looks behind him, "Robin, you're eating her lunch."

Robin grabs the curly fry he'd just placed in his mouth and places it back on the plate, turning around in his seat quickly to the sight of a (beautiful, definitely stunning) dark-haired woman standing there behind him.

Regina gives the man a small wave, "Hi."

Robin was flabbergasted, "You ordered a turkey sandwich on rye with honey mustard, curly fries, and a chocolate milkshake."

Regina shrugged, "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, it's just…," Robin tries to explain. He opens the take-out bag Ruby had set on the counter, "I usually order the exact same thing."

"Oh wow," Ruby interrupts then, staring at Robin and this woman (and the way they both couldn't seem to keep their eyes off of each other). "You guys are like soul mates or something. Sandwich soul mates."

Robin looks at her then, "I think I hear Granny calling you."

Ruby smiles slyly at him and nods her head, "Fine, but we both know I'm the one with keener senses than you. And I can sense what's happening here." Then she whispers to him, "Merry Christmas!" And takes her leave.

Regina raises an eyebrow at the whole exchange, unsure of how she feels about this entire situation; but this Robin was now staring at her, so she says, "You always order the same thing, huh? With extra ketchup?"

"Who doesn't like ketchup?" Robin says, a smile grazing his lips (as Regina takes note of his deep dimples). "Here," he continues, motioning to the chair beside him and setting the items from the bag down on the counter, "take my lunch…as I've obviously already half-eaten yours."

Regina sits, and says to him, "Oh, you're too kind." But then she looks at him, "I thought you ordered yours to go."

"Well," Robin says, "I could take it to go…but is that really what you want?"

Regina stares at him, wide eyed, "Wait…what?"

Robin shrugs and smiles at her easily, "It's just…I only ordered it to go because I really just don't fancy eating out alone on Christmas day...in public, nonetheless." Then he stares at her, "Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course."

"So…," she says, unsure of where he was heading with this conversation.

"So...you're alone, I'm alone. And it is Christmas," Robin replies.

Regina frowns slightly, even though she has no reason to (he had every right to assume she was alone). Her single lunch order is all but indicative that she wasn't with anyone on this day. Still, she raises an eyebrow, nonetheless, still wary of this stranger in front of her, "I don't…"

He smiles again, finding her confusion just slightly amusing (but definitely adorable) and asks, "How is it that you find yourself alone on this day, Milady?"

"Milady?" Regina asks, looking incredulous – but it was still a step-up from the 'ma'am' she'd received earlier. "I…"

"It's alright if you don't want to share," Robin says then, sensing her hesitation, and just continues with his meal.

Regina stares at him, at this ease he seems to have with this definitely odd situation. _If he could be so comfortable_, she thought, _why couldn't she?_ _There can't be harm in any of this, it was one day…and she'd probably never seen this man ever again._

So after a big gulp of her own chocolate milkshake, she says, "It's just that my son is with his mother right now."

"Oh," Robin says then, snapping his head towards her so quickly that he thought he almost got whiplash.

And she almost laughs at his deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression, so she continues (before he chokes on his curly fry), "His birth mother. I adopted him as a baby, but they've recently reacquainted…and well, if you're a parent, you'd know how hard it is to deny your children anything."

"OH," he says again, nodding his head eagerly now. "Well, that's a sticky situation." Then, after taking another bite he says, "But I know how you feel. And I do know what you mean. It would seem were in a very similar situation. You see, my son is also with his mother right now."

"Your ex-wife, I presume," she states, grabbing a fry off her plate without looking at him.

Robin laughs, "I'll try not to take offense that you're assuming I can't keep a woman."

"You're not wearing a ring," she states obviously.

"Ah…so you're checking out my ring finger, huh?"

Regina tries to fight the urge to roll her eyes. He must think he's so cute (_and gosh darn it, he is_, she thought). So, she tries to steer the conversation, "I'm Regina, by the way. And it's Robin, right?"

"Robin Locksley, at your service," he replies, wiping his hand on a napkin before extending it towards her.

She takes his hand and gives it a firm shake, "Pleasure."

As she turns back to her meal, he continues, "So, your son…how old is he?"

"Henry. Henry…he's nine, almost ten," she replies easily – talking about Henry was always easy. "He's getting so big, I mean…and I can't believe he's almost as tall as me now. I honestly don't know where time has gone."

"Almost a teenager then," Robin says. "From my own experience, and the woes I gave my mother at that age…I commend you. Luckily, I've got some ways to go with regards to my own boy. Roland's only six years old."

"I bet he's adorable," Regina comments, already imagining a kid with dimples.

"His perfected puppy dog eyes routine make it very hard not to give in to him every single time," Robin says.

She laughs then, and they continue to converse. Moving topics from their respective sons to the weather, the hellish shopping conditions of the holiday season, and just about everything else in between. Nothing too personal, though, and Regina still hasn't even given him a last name.

They talk and converse, until a shrill ringing of a phone suddenly erupts from Regina's purse.

"Sorry," she says quickly, looking at Robin apologetically whilst fishing her phone out.

She stares; surprised at both the time (_how was it already almost five o'clock_, she thought, _had they really been talking for four hours?_) and at the caller.

Bringing the phone to her ear, she says, "Henry, honey. Hi!" (pause) "Really? Are you serious?" (pause) "No, honey. I mean, you don't have to be sorry." (pause) "Yeah, honey…that's fine. I will pick you up and…" (pause) "I'll be waiting for you when you arrive." (pause) "I love you, too, honey. Bye."

She ends the call and looks at Robin. "I take it your son's coming home?" he asks her.

"Yeah," Regina replies, still somewhat surprised at the turn of events. "He said he insisted that Emma...Miss Swan, his birth mother, bring him home now for a short time before Christmas day actually ends. He said he wants to keep our tradition of going skating before we order too much Chinese food for dinner and then just play Monopoly all night long."

Robin beams, happy for her, "Go, have fun with your son." Then he looks at his watch, surprised, "Wow…we've been here awhile. It would seem I would need to be going now, too, actually."

Regina nods along; gathers up her things, dropping some bills on the table – before finally taking a deep breath and staring at Robin. "I've…Merry Christmas, Robin Locksley." A smile. "Thanks for..."

"...for suggesting being alone together on Christmas?" He smiles back at her, "It was no trouble, Milady. Happy Christmas, Regina."

* * *

><p>"Mom!" Henry calls out, spying his mother amongst the crowd.<p>

Regina turns quickly from the bus arrivals board to see Henry beaming at her and jogs to meet his eager hug, "Hey, sweetheart! How was your trip?" Then she sees the blonde woman following him, "Hello, Miss Swan."

"Merry Christmas, Regina," Miss Swan greets.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Regina replies back, smiling at the woman. "Thank you, for bringing Henry." She then takes a moment to stare at her son, two days without him and she felt like he already looked so different. She hugs him close again and stares back at Miss Swan, "Will you be needing a place to stay?"

"No, no," Miss Swan says. "I have a place to stay. I'll just pick up Henry again tomorrow morning and I'll drop him off morning of New Year's Eve as planned?"

"Yes," Regina nods. "And thank you again, for coming all the way here and letting us spend some of Christmas together."

"It was no problem," the blonde says. "I should be thanking you for letting me get to be with Henry for this length of time." Then she turns to their son, "I'll see you tomorrow again, kiddo! Enjoy tonight with your mom."

"Thanks, Emma," Henry says, moving to give her a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Mother and son wave as Miss Swan exits the surprisingly busy bus station and once out of their sight, Regina turns to Henry and says, "I already have your skates in the car."

"That's great, Mom," he says, "Skating...and then, I can't wait to stuff my face with some dumplings tonight right afterwards!" Then he stares at her, "I really am sorry about not even thinking what being alone on Christmas would be like for you..."

"Henry," Regina says, "don't be sorry." Then she shakes her head, smiling slightly, "It wasn't half bad..."

"Oh yeah?" Henry says curiously, "What did you do?"

She continues to guide him towards the parking lot, pausing slightly because she was unsure of how to respond, just as they hear: "HENRY! HENRY!"

Regina looks over her shoulder to see a little boy running towards them, sprinting really. She watches as Henry looks over, smiles, and says, "Roland!"

Regina's face scrunches as she repeats, "Roland…"

Then her head snaps back towards the little boy as she hears a very familiar voice, "Roland, buddy…slow down."

"Papa! Papa!" Roland exclaims, as father and son reach Regina and Henry, "Henry...this is Henry...Henry is my friend from the bus ride!"

Robin nods his head, tries his hardest to focus his attention on his son (or at least, his new friend) but all he sees is Regina...of all the places in the whole world, she was right here – and he could hardly believe it. He smiles at her and felt butterflies in his stomach at the way she can't seem to take her eyes off him, either.

"Papa," he hears again, but it was the tugging at his shirt that finally draw his attention back to Roland. "I was saying that Henry was telling me that him and his Mommy will skate tonight. I want to skate, too!"

"Roland…," Robin starts off, kneeling in front of his son. "Skating is their Christmas tradition, it wouldn't be nice of us to ask them to share that time with us."

Henry looks at the man quizzically, drawing his attention, "How did you know it was our tradition?"

Regina interjects then, touching Henry on his arm slightly before focusing her attention on the little curly-haired boy, "You know what, Roland? Me and Henry would not mind at all if you joined us for skating tonight." Then she looked at her son, already knowing his answer, "Right, Henry?"

"Yes," Henry replies easily. "I was going to tell you about Roland but I'd lost him when we came down from the bus…but I had been telling him about skating and I thought that maybe we could all go, and his Mom on the train said yes if his Dad agreed."

Robin nods his head (almost too eagerly), "Sounds good to me, skating is always enjoyable." Then he extends his hands towards Henry, "Robin Locksley, by the way. It's nice to meet you, young man."

And also does the same to Regina, who was clearly pretending they were strangers (he could play that game; if there was anyone he'd ever want to meet twice...it would definitely be her).

She takes his hands again, shakes it, and says, "Regina Mills. It's nice to meet you (again)."

"Alright," Henry and Roland both exclaim, giving each other a high-five.

* * *

><p>They somehow work out the whole situation, like eventually getting to their respective cars and driving to the ice rink; and in record time, too – because not thirty minutes later from their second official meeting did Regina find herself side-by-side with Robin again.<p>

The boys were already on the ice, both parents ensuring all laces were tied properly before dealing with their own; and now they're half tying their laces and half trying to pay attention to what was happening on the rink.

Robin finally breaks the silence, "I can honestly say that I'd never thought, not even for a second, that I would be here on Christmas day."

"You mean you're surprised that planning on stealing someone's lunch from a diner would lead to all this?" Regina asks, teasingly.

"Oh well, yeah. Who knew that 'The Great Turkey Sandwich Heist' could possibly have led me here?" he jests back. Then as he helps her rise off the bench, holding her hands in his, he adds, "But I think, if I'd known it would, I'd have stolen it sooner."

Regina beams, hoping to the gods above that she wasn't blushing as much as she knows she is (from the way her face feels like it's about a million degrees too hot).

"Mom!" "Papa!" The simultaneous precious voices of their sons suddenly draw their attention. They both wave at the boys eagerly, and she says to him, "Come on then, let's go."

Robin lets go of her hands and curtsies jokingly towards the ice rink, "So, this skating thing…you any good?"

Regina raises one eyebrow at him, "Well…I would definitely advise you not to get in my way."

"Oh, milady, I wouldn't dream of it."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Please enjoy the third installment of this OQ Christmas tale; it's a bit delayed in the holiday season, but who doesn't want Christmas all year round? Anywho...hope it's a great read and a fair warning, smut is up ahead (read at your own ris****k).**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Four Christmases they never had (and the one they did)<strong>

_Chapter Three_

Regina shut the door of the dishwasher lightly with a socked foot and pressed the 'ON' button on the machine. Sighing contentedly, she looked around their kitchen and smiled at its currently clean state.

A miracle of sorts, considering that was certainly not the case just two hours ago, when all of their friends and families had occupied this space for Christmas Eve dinner. The first they – her and Robin – have hosted as a married couple. Regina smiles inwardly and shakes her head slightly at the thought: _married_; she couldn't believe that eight months later and she was still what you'd call a 'blushing bride'.

She exits the kitchen now and makes her way to their living room, taking in the gigantic Christmas tree they'd (well, Robin had insisted) set up. It, along with all the presents underneath, basically took up more than three quarters of the space. But she couldn't deny that it looked merry and joyous – perfect, really.

Regina takes a moment now to gently touch one of the wooden ornaments adorning their tree. She could almost see her face two weeks prior when Robin (and five of his friends) had brought it in…

_Regina all but ran from the kitchen when she heard the loud commotion outside their apartment. Getting to the hallway, she watched (shocked) as Robin and his buddies came through the door with a massive evergreen tree._

"_What is that?" she said, eyes wide and disapproval clear in her tone._

"_It's a tree, Regina," Will, one of Robin's best friend, answers her as a matter-of-factly. _

_Regina grimaces at him and gives him a deadpan expression, "Thanks, Will. I can see that."_

"_So, why'd you ask?"_

"_Come on, you two," Robin interrupts then, putting his arm around Regina and saying to her (with a wide smile), "It's our tree, honey. Don't you like it?"_

"_Did it have to be ten feet tall?" Regina asked him._

"_It's really more like eight feet…seven and a half at most," Will interrupts again – earning him another glare from Regina._

_Robin ignores him and says, instead, "Oh, come on. It's our first Christmas tree as a married couple – the first ever Locksley Family tree, it has to be grand."_

"_Hmm," Regina says, already knowing she would be giving in to this gigantic tree monstrosity._

"_How many times has he used that excuse, eh, Regina?" John, another of her husband's best friends, asks her. _

"_Too many times, John," Regina replies, giving Robin a knowing (but loving look). "I can take you on a tour…the giant inflatable turkey for Thanksgiving, the skeletons literally hanging in our closet from Halloween, and…"_

"_Alright, alright," Robin says, giving his wife a peck on the cheek. "You're just saying that, you secretly enjoy all of this."_

"_Plus, we're not bringing it back down if you disagree," Will says then, rubbing his left shoulder blade._

_Tuck nods his head along as Allan says, "Agreed. Fifteen flights of stairs…no can't do, Regina."_

"_Oh, gosh," she says then, realizing the hardship they must have gone through. "Well, in that case…set it up in the living room, boys." Then with a big smile, "And you can all stay for dinner afterwards."_

"_Ooh," Allan says, "What are you mak—"_

_But he doesn't finish, because Robin is already giving him a pointed glare – which Regina doesn't see because she's trying to figure out where and how they were going to get the tree in their living room. _

_John elbows Allan, and says, "Maybe some other time, Regina." _

"_Yeah," Will adds, "I think Robin has other plans for you two, tonight."_

"_That I do," Robin answers decisively, smirking at Regina. _

_Regina smirks back, "That you may but it doesn't mean you have to throw your friends out without dinner after all this." Then she adds, eyebrow moving suggestively, "Plus, the night is young…"_

"_Ugh," Will says, "stop please! You can pack whatever you were going to feed us to go. Honestly, how are you two still in your honeymoon phase, after all this time?"_

"_Just go help put the tree in the corner, Scarlet," Regina replies, ignoring his question. "I'm going to continue with dinner, boys…just come to the kitchen when you're done."_

_Regina hears some mild cursing, grunts, and a lot of heavy panting coming from the living room as she prepares the food in the kitchen. Some time passes and finally (just as she's putting the lasagna in the oven), she sees Robin poke his head through the kitchen door._

"_All done, there, sweetheart?" she asks him, taking off the oven mitts. "Tell the boys that dinner will be ready soon. You can get the table ready…"_

"_They left," Robin replies. "I gave them all a water bottle, and then sent them on their merry way." _

"_What?" Regina asked, "Robin! They just helped you lug a tree up to our fifteen-floor walk up! And you didn't even think about feeding them?"_

"_They understand," he says to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, undoing the knot of her apron and slipping it off her head before tossing it on the counter. "They understand (kiss) that a husband (kiss) and his very (kiss) beautiful (kiss) wife needs their time alone…"_

"_Mhhmm," Regina practically moans, as Robin's kisses move from her lips to that sensitive spot behind her ear lobe, all earlier thoughts about feeding his friends slipping from her mind. But then her eyes snap open as he suddenly abandons his mark and finishes, "…with their first ever Christmas tree together." _

"_What?" she says, surprised, as he takes her hand and pulls her to the living room. _

_They had placed the tree in the far corner of the room, manoeuvring the other furniture in order to fit it all in the tight space – and it looks as if the coffee table didn't make the list, because lying there now in the middle of their carpet was a big brown box with a large red ribbon instead. _

"_What is this?" she asks, looking at Robin._

"_Open it!"_

"_Robin…"_

"_It's your early Christmas present, honey," he replies. "Open it."_

_Regina shakes her head lightly, smiling wide and unable to keep the excitement off her face as she sits down and opens the large box. She gasps as she sees what's inside, looking at Robin, "Did you?"_

_He smiles wide, sitting down beside her and nods, "Yes. All those over time hours I've been putting in…well, I've actually been spending it with Marco…in his shop. He really deserves most of the credit for this."_

"_I love it," she says, kissing him softly (trying to keep the happy tears at bay). "This is such an amazing gift!"_

_Regina carefully picks up one of the contents of the box – which was filled with colourful hand-carved Christmas ornaments – and holds it up: it was lion, "No offense though, but this doesn't really scream Christmas."_

_Robin laughs, taking the wooden lion from her hands, "No, but it screams 'us'." Then he takes her hand so that they were now holding the ornament together, "The first time you saw me…"_

"…_you were wearing a 'Lion King' t-shirt," she finishes for him. "You were so nervous about coming up to me that you spilled the drinks you brought all over Tink!"_

"_She turned so abruptly, and I was already shaking," Robin recalls. "But then you took one look at me (and my shirt), and you said, 'Hakuna Matata, it shouldn't stain'."_

"_And it took you forever to get the reference," Regina said, laughing again. "I thought I was being so clever." She picks up another ornament, an apple this time, "Oh this one is obvious: 'I'm the apple of your eye'."_

"_Try again," Robin replies, with a smile. "You're avoiding."_

"_You know I get competitive," Regina tells him, "Especially when it comes to my sister. Sibling rivalry, and all that. And so when she said that I couldn't possibly win that contest…"_

"_Oh, you didn't do it for that," Robin interjects. "Tink told me the 'real deal', she says and I quote."_

_Regina huffs and then reasons, "I misheard, alright? I thought they said the winner would win a once in a lifetime trip to Naples." She laughs, "Not a lifetime supply of apples. And I trained so hard for that race…Zelena set me up."_

"_It was a Fall Festival Fun Race, Regina. Why did you think they were giving out trips…to Italy?" Robin laughs, but at his wife's glare, he continues, "Well, at least we'll never have to buy an apple ever again."_

"_Moving on," Regina states then, already grabbing the next ornament: a bow and arrow. She smiles widely, "Our first date."_

_Robin hugs her close, "Yup. My 'aim' was to impress you…but it was more like the other way around."_

"_I know my way around a bow and arrow," Regina replies, sinking into his arms. _

"_That you do, m'lady," he says. "You struck me, right in the heart."_

"_Alright, Romeo," she replies then, swatting at him jokingly. "What's next?"_

Regina smiles at the memory, admiring their very own (and certainly, unique) Christmas tree once more before her attention focused on the clock ticking on the wall beside it.

She purses her lips and frowns slightly, it was almost midnight and Robin wasn't back yet. He had gone to drop off their parents at the inn for the night (although their barely two-bedroom apartment was big enough for a plentiful dinner party, there really wasn't any room for more than one overnight houseguest), a task that should have taken all of five minutes.

Regina makes a grab for her phone when she feels hands snake around her waist. She yelps, surprise at first but relaxed immediately at the familiarity of the touch. She turns quickly and eyes her husband…a lot of her husband.

She gently removes his hands from his waist, watches as he smirks at her sight of him.

"Did you sneak back in here, and do all this?" she asks him playfully, her hand gesturing at his outfit. She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh out loud or be really turned on; she then supposes she could do both.

Robin, her husband, was now clad in only a pair of red boxer briefs, held up by black suspenders, and a Santa hat perched on his head. His blue eyes twinkled at her, dimples deep in his cheek, and his abs…oh, yeah, Regina was definitely turned on.

"Do you like it?" he asks her, moving in closer again, wrapping strong muscular arms around her frame.

"I didn't know you were back," she says. "I swear, you were probably a thief in another lifetime."

"Maybe so," he replies, "But trust me, the only thing I'd want to steal is you…your heart, my love."

"Mhhmm," she says, giving him a quick (and teasing) kiss, "You can't steal something that's been given to you, sweetheart."

At her words, the clock on the wall began to chime – it was midnight; it was Christmas!

Robin smiles widely at his wife, finally taking her lips in a passionate kiss, tongue swiping at her bottom lip wanting to deepen the kiss; Regina obliges, opening her mouth to his, feeling her body be pressed tightly against his. This kiss goes on, until they're both in desperate need of air.

"Merry Christmas, honey," Robin says to Regina.

"Merry Christmas," she replies. Then with a mischievous grin. "You know, I think you're outfit is missing something."

"Missing something?" he asks.

Regina nods, pushing her husband to sit on the sofa, and says seductively, "Stay, Santa. Don't be naughty."

With those words, she moves to the kitchen and yanks the fridge door open. Grabbing the can of whip cream from the shelf, she hurries back to the living room to see Robin indeed hadn't moved – but it would seem a part of him did, obvious by the tenting of his boxer briefs.

She shows him the bottle of whip cream, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. "If I recall correctly," she says, "Santa has a beard…as white as snow."

Robin laughs as Regina climbs onto his lap, then draws a quick hiss of breath as she positions herself right on top of his already erect member. He keeps her eye contact, deliciously feeling as her breast presses up against his chest.

Regina squeezes the bottle of whip cream onto his jaw line, tracing from ear to ear, covering his face in a makeshift beard. Once finished, she admires her handiwork, smirking at her husband.

"How do I look?" Robin asks her.

Regina bites her lower lip, beginning to move slowly atop him, grinding her hips against his. "You look," she replies, "absolutely delectable."

"Regina," Robin groans.

"Patience," she responds, moving her hand to the bottom of her blouse and shrugging it off. Robin unclasps her bra at the same time, eyes growing hungry at the sight of her bare breasts in front of him.

He moves to put one mound into his mouth but she stops him, "Uh uh. I have to get you all clean and 'shaved' first."

With that said, she pushes him down on his back on the sofa, lying completely on top of him as she darts her tongue all over his face, licking the whip cream right off – whilst continuing the grinding of her hips against his, her breast still pressed to his muscular chest. Once all done, Robin was positively writhing beneath her, "Oh, Regina."

And with that, he flips her, sinking her body onto sofa as he presses on top of her. His moves are frenzied, his message clear: he wants her, and he wants her now.

Regina smiles up at him, as he looks her in the eye and kisses her passionately. On her lips, down to her neck, sucking at a pulse poin before finally taking one of her nipples into his mouth – his thumb and forefinger giving attention to the other.

She moans his name, and it all but fuels him to continue. His lips are lower now, down on her navel. And with a swift move, she feels his hands undoing the buttons of her jeans; sliding them (and her underwear) down and off.

Robin growls hungrily at the sight of her naked before him, and before Regina could even react, his tongue is already swiping across her sex, nipping and sucking; as Regina moans and writhes in response. Feeling her wetness, Robin's finger begin to circle her opening – feeling this, Regina all but bucks her hip – he gets the message, pushing one finger (and then a second) into her.

Regina screams, his fingers pumping in and out of her while his tongue continued to suck at her clit. "Robin," she moans. "Faster." He obliges, fingers and tongue working in tandem.

Then suddenly, she's gripping his head, her body clenching – her walls tightening around his fingers. Regina gives a loud moan as the orgasm hits her, the sensation overwhelming as Robin shows no sign of stopping. In her state, she scrapes her nails along his arm, her hip bucking off the sofa but Robin keeps her in line, firmly but gently placing a palm on her stomach…gripping her as the sensation finally tapers off.

With one last swipe of his tongue, Robin moves his head from between her legs, eyes meeting hers as he moves up her body and catches her lips in a passionate and hungry kiss. His fingers continue their motion, urging Regina to moan into his mouth.

She needs him, and so she unclips the suspenders from his boxer briefs, pushing them down suggestively, and watches him stand to take them off – his cock springing free from its confines. She bites her lower lip, breathing heavy as she looks at him standing before her, bare.

"Robin," she says, before grabbing his member into her hand, pumping slowly – as her other hand grip his balls.

Robin moans, eyes watching his wife's every move. He thought his knees would buckle when sees (and feels) her tongue softly lick his tip, her hands still moving up and down his member. "I need you," he says, "I need to be inside you, Regina."

She nods, letting him position himself atop her. Robin pushes her lightly up the couch, splaying her legs open and hooking his arms to brace her knees. Regina grabs his cock, guiding it to her entrance and watches as she sinks into her.

They moan simultaneously at the connection, Robin grabbing her lips into his own as he moves in and out of her – both enjoying the sensation thoroughly. He moves with earnest, well aware of the speed she enjoys, knowing full well that each of his thrust was hitting that spot inside of her.

"There," Regina says, "right there, Robin…yes!"

Robin was close, and he knew she was, too. Letting her legs go, he moves one thumb to rub against her clit (causing Regina to buck widely at the sensation), but he keeps her down; pinning her body against his as his mouth and hand continue their earlier attentions to her breasts.

Suddenly she's crying out, the sensation of him inside of her and his attention to her clit and breasts becoming too much. She cries out his name as the orgasm hits her, her arms hugging him close.

Robin moaned as he felt her walls clench around his cock, her arms wrapping around his body. He manages a couple of deep thrusts until he too was crying out her name, her arms moving to cup his face, their eyes meeting as he spilled himself inside of her.

"I love you, Mrs. Locksley" he says to her, kissing her softly.

She moans into his kiss, "I love you, too, Mr. Locksley."

Touching his forehead to hers briefly, he pecks her nose and collapses beside her – or tries to, at least, seeing as her they were on the sofa. So, instead, he ends up just snuggling closer, having Regina half lying on top him in the process.

"Now that," Robin states, his mind clearing by the minute, "was the best way to start our first Christmas together…as a married couple."

Regina smiles, nodding her head in agreement. "I'd say so…"

Robin turns and bends, retrieving the blanket they, at some point, must've thrown towards the carpet. He wraps it snuggly around their bodies, breathing in Regina's scent, his arms securely around her, "I'd be content if every Christmas was just like this…you and me." He closes his eyes, "Just the two us."

Regina shifts beside him, prompting Robin to open one eye as he sees her now staring intently at him. "What is it?" he asks her.

"Just the two us?" she repeats his statement as a question.

"Well," he says, "I mean, having the whole gang over for a Christmas Eve dinner was the best idea. Because now, and for all of Christmas day…it could just be you and me. We don't have to worry about parents and in-laws, and friends coming over. Christmas will be just for us."

"So, you wouldn't want to celebrate Christmas with anyone but me?" Regina asks him.

Robin sits up now, unable to read her face completely. They end up still wrapped in the blanket but with Regina now on his lap. "Why?" he questioned her, "Did you already agree to spending Christmas with one of our folks next year or something?"

"No," Regina replies easily. Then biting her lip, almost nervously, she adds, "It's just…I don't think we're ever going to have a Christmas with just the two of us, now or…in the future."

Robin swallows the lump that had formed in his throat. His eyes wide, his heart racing at the implications of her words. Without another sound, Regina grabs the blanket and climbs off his lap, darting towards the Christmas tree, apparently retrieving a gift.

She smirks as she turns back to the sight of him sitting naked on their couch (mentally reminding herself to give it a spray tomorrow, for guests' sakes), then resumes her position atop him. She hands him the box and says, "The whole I was working late all of last week, well…I spent some time with Marco in his workshop, too."

Robin eyes her, opening the box carefully, his eyes tearing and his face breaking out into a huge grin as he holds up the wooden ornament resembling a quarter coin. "Are you…," he begins.

"…I'm assuming you don't need me to explain?" she breaks him off, cupping his smiling face in her hands, remembering a conversation some months ago…

_Robin was sitting on the dining room table, typing away on his laptop and finishing some reports before his wife arrived, when he hears her key turning in the lock._

"_Hey, honey," he greets, standing from his position to meet her at their door. He kisses her as a greeting and asks, "How was work?"_

"_Great," she answers, smiling wide. "Mary-Margaret (her secretary) and David are having a baby." _

_Robin smiles, both of them moving back to the kitchen as Regina unpacks some groceries she's bought. "That is great news," he replies, "Have long have they been married, again?"_

"_Two years," she replies, arranging some vegetables in the fridge. "She's about two months along…you know, I called it. I mean…she was always so haggard in the mornings. And then, she switched off to tea and...Well, she finally told me because tomorrow is her first ultrasound and she wanted the day off."_

"_Wow," Robin says, "what are they going to see in the ultrasound at this stage?"_

_Regina shrugs, continuing with her unpacking, "I don't know."_

"_Oh," Robin says after a few minutes, "Apparently, at eight weeks, the baby is about the size of a quarter."_

_Regina stares blankly at him, and he nods (pointing at his computer screen), "Says right here, the size of quarter." He laughs then, "At this stage, you should've just pulled out a quarter from your wallet and showed it to her…that's all they're going to see anyhow."_

_He does it then, pulling out some coins from his pocket and grabbing the quarter. He stands from his seat, holding the quarter with both hands and wiggling it in front of Regina's face, his voice teasing as he says, "Mary-Margaret, this is your baby…and he looks a lot like Grandpa George."_

_Regina laughs then, smacking Robin lightly on the arm. _

"_Hey, that hurts," he says unconvincingly, then because she's still laughing, he adds, "It wasn't that funny."_

"_It is," she says, "David's father's name is actually George."_

"Are we having a baby?" Robin says to her then, "You're…are you?"

Regina nods her head, her eyes now filling with tears, mostly from watching as Robin's face break into a huge smile at her revelation, his own tears spilling forth. "I'm going to be Dad," he says to her. "We're having a baby."

She laughs, "Yes…we're having a baby."

"So, I take it your eight weeks along?" he asks her, holding up the wooden coin again. "When did you find out?" Then his eyes widen, the news really hitting home now, "Are you alright? Morning sickness? Oh god…what we just did…was that okay, was it too rough? Should we have done it on the bed and not the sofa? Were you comfortable?"

"Robin, Robin," Regina says, holding both his hands in hers. "I'm fine. The baby is fine. I found out just two weeks ago. And yes, we're eight weeks along. The morning sickness is manageable, I mean, I've been able to hide it from you all this time." She pauses, looking at him pointedly, "And…there's nothing wrong with my husband making love to me."

He kisses her then, lightly, on the tip of her nose. Moving to stand them both up, Robin guides her towards the Christmas tree, the blanket wrapped around the both of them.

Taking her hand in his, they place the last ornament on the their Christmas tree together – watching as it sways in it position amongst all the twinkling lights and tinsel – it's meaning, though maybe only clear to them both, is the true definition of Christmas: family.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Four Christmases they never had (and the one they did)**_

_Chapter Four_

**1-**

High school senior Regina Mills sat in the school cafeteria opposite her best friend, Christina (Tink, for short) Bell. She grabbed a fry off her plate, dipping it in some ketchup before popping it in her mouth; trying her hardest to make sense of whatever story Tink was telling her.

The brunette stares at Tink now, whose mouth had finally stopped moving – meaning she was waiting for some sort of response from her.

"Uhh," Regina started, unsure of what to say because (one) she wasn't really paying attention and (two) Tink's stories tend to go overboard, bordering on insanity.

Tink groaned, then said, "You weren't listening? Again?"

"Who is it about this time? Peter? Neal?" Regina asked. "The other half of the football team?"

"Killian!"

"Eww," Regina replied, her face scrunching in somewhat mock disgust. "He's practically a goth pirate…how could you?"

"Goth pirate?" Tink asked, laughing. "I don't know where you get these terms from."

"He wears a lot of black and says 'Mate' a lot – all he's really missing is the hook…and a parrot," Regina replies with a shrug. Then a pause, "Well…what were you saying about him?"

Tink huffed, but then scooted closer to Regina, whispering to her friend giddily, "I caught him under the mistletoe and well, I kissed him."

Regina narrows her eyes at Tink's choice of words, she knows her best friend literally meant 'caught' – but to respond, she says, "Is this the part where I scream with joy or…?"

Tink smacked Regina on the arm lightly, "You know, you could be a little more excited."

Regina tries not to grimace as Tink reaches over to steal a handful of fries from her plate, instead replying with: "You kiss a new guy like every other week. Forgive me for acting less cheery with each new conquest."

"You know," Tink says, mouth full, "that's your problem." And at Regina's raised brow, she continues, "You need to kiss someone."

"I've kissed my fair share of people," Regina said. "Thank you very much."

"No…," Tink says, "You've let exactly four people kiss you, and one creepy stalker."

"Let them kiss me?" Regina repeated, brow raised – tone icy.

"Yes," Tink replies earnestly, "Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?"

Regina rolls her eyes, but dipping another fry into the ketchup, she lets Tink continue on: "Your first kiss was Daniel – we were nine years old and we locked you guys in the basement closet of Mary Margaret's house for 'seven minutes in heaven'. At like, the six minute and thirty second mark, after standing awkwardly in the dark, Daniel gave you a peck on the lips – which you immortalized as the best first kiss ever."

"It was a great kiss," Regina defended, biting her lower lip.

"He kissed you; that is my point," Tink waves her hand, "Now, don't interrupt! Next, we're twelve. You spend a summer in Europe visiting your mother's family and she tries to set you up with the son of a Duke or something…what was his name?"

"Ugh," Regina says, frowning at the memory, "Leopold."

"Right, how regal. Well, he kissed you after you guys danced at some fancy ball – or whatever. Again, he kissed you," Tink points out, grabbing more fries.

"I didn't want to kiss him," Regina states.

"Nevertheless, your lips touched. Next was your ill-advised tryst with Jefferson. Tell me something, which of his crazy hats was your most favourite?"

"Definitely the top hat," Regina answers in a sarcastic manner. "I was baby-sitting his little sister, he said he would walk me home, I didn't think he would kiss me." Then she adds, pointedly, "Hardly a tryst!"

Tink laughs, "Anyway…next was Graham."

"That doesn't really count," Regina states. "We kissed for a play."

"Yes, you did," Tink says. "But, his princely kiss to your sleeping beauty counts as having someone kiss you."

"That one shouldn't count still," Regina repeats. "It was completely platonic and should not have happened if Emma – his most beloved girlfriend – didn't get sick two days before opening night; and I just happened to be the understudy!"

"It counts!" Tink says with conviction, slamming a hand lightly on the table for effect. "Then, there's Sidney."

Regina shakes her head vehemently, "That vermin never kissed me!"

"Maybe not you, you," Tink replies with a disgusted expression. "But he did have that picture of you; I mean, who knew what he did with it – you should've taken it from him sooner."

Regina groaned, "I fail to see the point in all this."

"The point," Tink replies, touching Regina's arm lightly," The point is that you never initiate the kiss. Sure, you respond to it…at least, I hope you do. But you've missed out on having that...that crazy feeling of kissing someone because you feel this primal need to, deep inside of you. Where…where it's not just about what your heart is saying. But, it's more than that…like, you feel it deep in your soul."

Regina blinks a couple of times and then she laughs, grabbing Tink's drink and taking a whiff, "Are you drunk?"

"No!" the blonde replies, "I'm just saying…you should make your New Year resolution to be more spontaneous." Tink takes more fries (as Regina frowns), "You know what? Actually…why wait till the New Year? The next guy you meet that you're remotely interested in, kiss him…grab him and kiss him."

Regina stares at Tink, not sure if her best friend was indeed serious or not; but before she could respond, a boisterous laugh erupts from across the cafeteria, causing the two friends to turn their heads toward the sound.

Regina rolls her eyes, seeing John Little holding a tray teasingly above a scowling Will Scarlet's head – much to the amusement of their little group (or band, whatever), especially their 'leader': Robin Locksley.

"Ugh," Regina states, turning back to Tink – her face a mix of annoyance and exasperation.

"What?" Tink asks; then upon seeing Regina's face, the blonde nods knowingly and says, "What did Robin do now?"

Regina sighs deeply. "Well, Mr. Gold assigned us as chemistry partners – curse of the alphabet: Locksley and Mills, isn't it enough that I've had to sit beside him in every other class since the first grade? Now we have to be partners, too?" she begins. "And, of course, the imbecile spent half of the period doing annoying little things – purposely making mistakes, which meant we had stay behind after class and also, meet up for our free period today to finish the work." She huffed, "And…he stole my pencil."

"Wow, Regina," Tink says, shaking her head amusedly. "Robin steals an apple from you in kindergarten and you brand him as a thief forever. Never mind the fact that he technically did give it back to you the next day. Well kind of, he got you that caramel apple."

"Once a thief, always a thief."

Suddenly, a tray lands heavily on their table, followed by Emma Swan quickly grabbing the seat next to Tink. "Thief?" Emma asks, looking between the two, as she knowingly states: "So, we're talking about Robin."

"You say that like we always talk about him," Regina replies, frowning at the blonde.

"We don't always talk about him," Emma stares at Regina, talking through a mouthful of her burger. "You do! You know, for someone who apparently hates him…you talk about him quite a bit."

Regina frowns, opening her mouth to argue, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Mary-Margaret Blanchard and her boyfriend: David Nolan.

"What's up, ladies?" Mary-Margaret asks, as she seats in the chair that David pulled out for her; before he, too, took a seat – always the gentleman, that David.

"Regina's favourite topic," Emma states, giving Regina a wide-toothed grin.

"Oh," Mary-Margaret states, "Robin, then."

David begins to laugh but stops immediately upon seeing Regina's frowning face. Instead, he turns and speaks to his girlfriend, "Have you spoken to him?"

"Yes," the pixie-haired girl replies, "Robin's band, the Merry Men, are the official band for the Senior Christmas Ball."

"Great," Graham Humbert states, arriving at their table to give Emma a quick peck on the cheek before taking a seat. He looks at David, "At least, we don't have to suffer through David's abysmal DJ skills."

"Hey," David states, faking a hurt expression – as Mary-Margaret affectionately caresses his cheek. "Actually, I'm also glad Mary-Margaret acquired actual musicians this time."

The group laughs. Then Regina says, looking at Emma, "Back to you earlier statement, Swan, I do not!"

"Do not what?" Graham asks, looking around the table.

Emma turns to her boyfriend, "She doesn't talk about Robin all the time."

Graham does laugh out loud, looking at Regina, "What? He's like your favourite topic." He takes a sip of his soda, then adds, "You should ask him to go to the Ball with you; I heard he hasn't asked anyone yet."

"Ohh," Tink says, smiling, "I like that idea." Turning to Regina, "Go…ask him. Now."

"I'm not asking him," Regina states forcefully, shaking her head. "And I don't talk about him a lot – he is NOT my favourite topic." A pause, and a glare towards everyone in their table, "And I'm certainly not asking him to the Ball."

"Still waiting for Daniel, huh?" Emma says, waggling her eyebrows.

"You know what they say," Mary-Margaret adds, looking at David lovingly (making the whole table almost gag), "First love never dies."

Emma shrugs, "I don't think it's about the first love at all. We all get a first love, but it's the last one that counts."

"Agree," Graham says, nodding his head; smiling at his girlfriend.

"True love," Tink states, holding her right hand over hear heart. She looks at Regina, "Soul mates."

Regina shakes her head, "I honestly think all of you have had too much eggnog this holiday season." Then eyeing the box that she now noticed at Mary-Margaret's feet, she says: "Change of topic. Mary-Margaret, what's in the box?"

"Ooh," she replies, picking up the box and placing it on top of the cafeteria table. "It's the letters to Santa we wrote in the third grade."

Tink gasped, "Then why do you have them? You're not Santa!" Then, with her eyes going wide, she continues, "Are you?"

The whole table laughed. Then Emma speaks, "Yeah, what's the deal with that? How did you get them?"

"Well," Mary-Margaret starts, "I ran into Ms. Blue at the elementary school the other day, when I was doing my tutoring, and she gave them to me." She looked at her group of friends, continuing, "She said she thought we'd enjoy reading about what we might have written ten years ago."

"So, she never mailed them to Santa? All this time?" Tink asked.

Regina looked at her best friend, touching her arm lightly, "You do know that Santa Claus isn't real, right?"

"She does now, Grinch," Graham jokes, smirking at Regina.

Tink shook her head, "So, it's her fault that my Barbie never got her dream house." She frowned, "I never did like Ms. Blue – she was…odd."

Emma laughed, "Odd? Really? The woman was downright shady." Then she turns to Tink, "How do you even remember what you wrote in that, though?"

"Clearly, she's been harbouring hard feelings about it," David quips, as he takes a sip of his drink.

"Damn right," Tink says. "That woman left my Barbie homeless."

"So," Regina says, looking at Mary-Margaret. "Are you going to hand them out, or what?"

"Well…," Mary-Margaret begins, a glint in her eye – and the whole group knew that something big (and probably dreadful was coming). "…I was thinking we can use them to do a school-wide – or well, grade-wide – Secret Santa. People can pick from the letters, anonymously of course, and make Christmas magic. And the big revelation can be at the Christma Ball!"

Emma shook her head, eyeing everyone at the table, "I'm not buying Tink a Barbie dream house."

"We haven't even had the draw yet," David says, looking at his cousin with a dead-pan expression, "You don't know that you'll pick Tink."

Graham interjects, "I think Emma's point is that, since we wrote these letters ten years ago – when we were eight – that we may have asked for next level things."

"Yeah," Regina states. "I may have asked for a pony...amongst other things."

Emma nods along, "Plus, what happens to all the new kids? The ones who weren't here when we were in tenth grade? Are we just going to leave them out?"

"That doesn't seem very Christmasy…," Tink adds, agreeing with Emma.

"You guys aren't making this easy for me," Mary-Margaret pouts, turning to David.

"They may have a point, though," he tells his girlfriend. "A school-wide or grade-wide Secret Santa may be an overachievement."

Mary-Margaret sighs. "Fine," she says, putting the box of letters back on the floor next to her backpack. "If this can't be, though, then I motion for our group Secret Santa to go ahead this year…we're not boycotting it anymore."

The friends share a look, finally Graham replies to Mary-Margaret: "Sure. But we each make a wish list that you'll compile and hand out to everyone. That'll at least take out the guess work."

The pixie-haired girl mulls it over, then she nods. "Alright, we'll go with the wish list; I'll compromise. Now, no one can argue that I'm not the fairest of them all!"

"Fairest, indeed," David says, smiling at his girlfriend. "You're equally just and beautiful."

"Alright, enough of that," Graham comments, "Let's finish our other discussion." The he turns back to Regina, "So, are you going to ask Robin or what, Mills?"

"I think we've established she's waiting on Mr. Daniel Barns," Emma reminds him.

Graham shrugs, "My vote is still for Robin."

"Why do you get a vote? There is no vote!" Regina states, eyes wide. "But if it was a contest, it would hardly be fair. I mean, Daniel is nice, a gentleman…he's smart, funny – or so I heard – plus he's athletic, and he rides horses; everyone likes him. Meanwhile, Robin is the bane of my existence; he's arrogant, rude…a thief! I can't stand him! He's…"

"…kind of cute," Mary-Margaret quips, earning a giggle from Tink.

"He smells of pinecones," Regina finishes, glaring at her friends.

Emma raises an eyebrow, "Hmm…I wonder how he'd describe you?" She looks like at Regina pointedly, "I mean, you're hardly a fireside picnic when you're around him."

Regina sighs really tiring of this conversation – frankly because it was a most absurd discussion. Pointless really, as pointless as the person it's about. "I could hardly care about what he has to say," she says, "Now can we please move on?"

But before anyone else can say anything, the bell rings – signalling the end of their lunch period.

"Oh, thank goodness," Regina says, glad that the school bell had decidedly ended their conversation – as she stands to gather her belongings.

"Where are you going?" Emma asks her, watching as Regina hoists her backpack on. "We have a free period."

Tink giggles, "She has a date with Robin."

"We have to finish our chemistry assignment," Regina declares to everyone, rolling her eyes.

"Chemistry….chemistry," Graham says then, rubbing his hands together as he looks at Regina suggestively. "You. Robin. Chemistry. Come on, Mills."

Regina practically growls, and looked about to punch Graham in the face – so Mary-Margaret interjects. "You know what," the pixie-haired girl states, taking Regina by the arm, "Why don't I walk you to the library, I need to drop some stuff off in the student council office anyhow."

And with one kiss to David, Mary-Margaret steers Regina away from the table and out of the cafeteria doors."

**2-**

"I thought you were going to give Mary-Margaret our set list," John says, as he sees Robin walking back to their table, paper still in hand.

Robin blinks a couple of times, looking at his friends while plastering a smile on his face. "Oh," he says, "She was having a lovely lunch with her friends; I didn't want to interrupt."

"And here we thought Regina just banished you away," Will comments, smirking.

Robin moves to sit back down in his chair, frowning at Will. "She has nothing to do with any of this," he replies; but inside his mind, he was trying to forget the truth.

The truth that Will was somewhat correct in his comment, Regina may not have banished him intentionally – but it was her words that distracted him from his mission. He'd only caught the tail-end of her speech but it was enough to stop him in his tracks: _"…Daniel is nice, a gentleman…he's smart, funny – or so I heard – plus he's athletic, and he rides horses; everyone likes him. Meanwhile, Robin is the bane of my existence; he's arrogant, rude…a thief! I can't stand him!"_

Robin doesn't even know why he's still remotely surprised. Regina has had a crush on Daniel Barns since they were but small toddlers. It really shouldn't bother him at this point – but it does, of course it does! Robin tries to forget the thought, focusing back on his group of friends as he notices Will continuing on.

"If you say so," Will was saying. Then he stands abruptly, taking up his lunch tray. "Alright, I will see you men later," he continues, nudging towards one corner of the cafeteria, "I must speak to my boy, Daniel, over there…about some things."

Robin's gaze follows, the frown on his face deepening (hard to forget, when it keeps being thrown in your face) – much to Will's ignorance.

"What's with the look there, Robin?" Alan Dale asks, following his friend's gaze.

"That there, mate, is the look a love-fool puppy kicked in its behind," Killian Jones answers, patting Robin in the back – who flinches at the contact. However, this doesn't deter Killian, he just continues, "You know, mate, I think you should finally just ask Regina out – better yet, ask her to the Christmas Ball."

"Who's talking about Regina?" Robin asks, looking at everyone in the table – silently fearing he was being way too obvious.

"Oh, you don't fool us, Robin," Anthony (Tuck, for short) Friar states, giving his friend a coy smile. "We know you far too well."

"How can you possibly forget that we've all grown up together, huh, Robin?" Killian interjects again. "We've watched you watch Regina all these years, while she, in turn, has watched Mr. Barns over there."

Robin sighs.

"Enough is enough, mate," Killian continues. "Sometimes you have to know when to give up."

"Or maybe you just need some closure," Alan quips, finishing off the last bite of his sandwich.

"That's why I think he should ask her to the Christmas Ball," Killian speaks again. "When she says no, then you can let go of this whole pursuit."

Robin tries not to grimace at Killian's choice of words: 'when'. As if he didn't already know he'd never have a chance with Regina Mills – his friend really had to drive it home. Luckily, before he even has a chance to respond, the bell signalling the end of lunch began to ring.

He gathered up his belongings, prompting John to ask, "Where are you going there, Robin? Free period, remember?"

"I have to finish some Chemistry work in the library," he replied.

"Meaning you goofed around in class again, as an excuse to spend more time with your chemistry partner," Alan states, giving Robin a knowing smile. "Who just happens to be…Regina."

Robin spies Killian shaking his head, who says: "Desperate moves, buddy."

"Oh, shut it, Jones," Robin says, throwing a dirty napkin at him. "Just because…"

"Rob…Robin!" John interjects, touching his best friend's arm and nodding towards the cafeteria doors where he sees Regina and Mary-Margaret exiting. "Looks like you need to hurry your ass on to the library, and maybe you can give Mary-Margaret that set list."

Robin nods his head, refusing to look at Killian again as he dashed out of the cafeteria – backpack and set list in hand.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Robin calls out, jogging to catch up, and prompting Mary-Margaret to turn.<p>

"Hey, Robin!" she greets, struggling with both the box and her backpack. "What's up?"

"Here, let me," Robin states, grabbing the box out of her hands. "Ooh, this is quite a large box you have here. What's in it?"

"Our letters to Santa from the third grade," Mary-Margaret replies, as they continued to walk along the hallway, "Do you remember?"

"Oh," Robin answers, blinking a couple of times as his memory tries to catch up with her words. Finally, he nods, "Yeah, I do. Why do you have them?"

"Ms. Blue gave them to me last time I saw her," Mary-Margaret replies. "She thinks we'd enjoy reading them now, ten years later."

"No wonder I never got what I wanted for Christmas that year," Robin says simply – but his mind was working on overdrive. He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts; and chuckling, says, "Always trust Ms. Blue to turn even letters to Santa into weird time capsule things."

"She was always kind of odd," Mary-Margaret agrees. "Well, what can I help you with?"

"Oh," Robin says, digging into his pocket, "I have the song list that the band can do for the Ball…tell me if you approve. I think we can learn a couple of more songs if you have a request."

Mary-Margaret takes the paper, "Thanks." Then she stops in front of the student council room door, opening it and allowing Robin to step inside. "You can set the box down there by my desk," she says, pointing to the nearest table to the door.

Robin does as she says, and takes the time to look around the room. He's never been in here before, not that he'd have a reason to, anyhow. He never did like politics. He smiles knowlingly as he notices the very neatly kept desk by the window, papers organized and everything in place.

Mary-Margaret catches his gaze and shakes her head, letting out a soft laugh – these two!

"That's Regina's desk," she supplies, "As President, she over-ruled us and got the only desk with a view."

Robin nods his head along. "I figured, it's just like her to have everything so neat…and tidy." Then he laughs a little, "Plus, the apple is kind of a dead give-away." Then, he moves back to where he'd placed the box on Mary-Margaret's desk, "So, these letters…when are you going to give them out?"

"At the Ball," Mary-Margaret replies, "I think that will be as good a time as any."

"And you say, you have everyone's letter in here?"

"I think so…," the pixie-haired girl says. She eyes the clock, then turns her attention back to Robin, who seems to be staring at the box intently, "Don't you have somewhere else to be, Robin?"

Robin was shaken out of his reverie, and nods his head quickly, "Yes. Yes, I do. Library. Chemistry assignment. Regina."

"Best not to keep her waiting," Mary-Margaret quips.

"You are correct in that," Robin replies, backing out of the room. "So, just…for the set list…get back to me if you approve or not. And if you have anyting to add."

"Will do," she replies. Then, motioning him with her hand, "Now, go!"

Robin smiles, and gives Mary-Margaret a nod before leaving the student council room and sprinting towards the library.

* * *

><p>"You're late," Regina states with a dead-pan expression as Robin drops his books on the table beside her.<p>

He pulls the chair next to her and settles down, throwing his backpack to the floor. "I had some business to take care of," he whispers to her, eyeing the librarian sitting at the front desk.

"Please, Locksley," she replies, still not looking at him, "I'd rather you not tell me any information that can implicate me in whatever possible crime you've committed." She finally turns to him, "I'd hate to have to testify or be an accessory to anything."

He frowns at her, "If you must know, I was giving my band's set list to Mary-Margaret." He holds her gaze then, looking at her intently, as he says, "You know, for the Christmas Ball."

The silence that followed his words was suprising, he's never known Regina Mills not to have a retort for just about anything. They hold their gaze for a lot longer than what was appropriate for two people, in a library, with an intended purpose of simply just finishing a Chemistry assignment.

Robin's eyes finally leaves hers when he notices her bite her bottom lip – well, that isn't a safe focal point, he thought.

Then suddenly, she's speaking again, asking him…asking him something. "What was that?" Robin clarified, turning back towards his still closed notebook.

"Can I see your set list?" Regina repeated, gaining composure of herself after that very odd and somewhat disturbing (but weirdly, not at all unpleasant) staring contest that the two of them just had.

"Afraid I don't know any songs you can dance to?" Robin asked her, at the same time he reached into his bag for another copy of his band's set list.

She shakes her head, taking the piece of paper from him, "Actually, I'm afraid you don't know any quality songs at all."

She peruses the list – of course, she'd heard his band before and knew most of the songs they cover – but they've added a couple of Christmas songs to this list, ones she's actually looking forward to hearing Robin sing (if not for curiosity, but also for her own amusement).

"This is a wide range, indeed," Regina finally comments. "I mean, from 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer' to 'I'll Be Home For Christmas'.

Robin laughs, "Well…yes. I have a wide range of talents, as you must know by now."

Regina rolls her eyes. "Yes, indeed. If arrogance and egosim were talents."

"Now you don't mean that," Robin replies. "I've seen you swaying to my band's music before. Most recently, at the Halloween party at the community centre."

"It's called crowd mentality," she tells him. "Everyone else was dancing, so…"

"Huh. I've never known Regina Mills to be anything but a leader."

She scrunches her face, frowning at him. Rolling her eyes, she says, "Can we get to work now, please? I'd like to finish this and still have some of my free period left."

He shrugs, "Sure thing. So…hydrogen. And valence electrons. Huh."

"We're on question number five," Regina clarifies for him, opening his textbook to the right page and pointing to the question.

Robin watches her read the question carefully, her lips pursing as her mind seemed to work out the question. And before he could even help himself, he blurts out: "So, who are you going to the Christmas Ball with?"

Regina turns her head so sharply towards him that Robin fears she may have whiplash. "What?" she asked him, her voice sharp and serious – the expression on her face…afraid?

Robin tries to keep the emotions he was feeling inside from showing on his face – reading the situation. One, Regina was angry at him for broaching a subject she clearly deemed inappropriate and two, she was scared that his asking this of her meant that he would ask her to the dance: something she clearly didn't want. So, Robin held up both hands – in defense – and said calmly: "I just asked you who you're going to the dance with."

Regina nods her head, lips still pursed. "Well, if you must know," she started, "I'm not going with anyone." A pause. "Why, is there anything wrong with attending a dance alone?"

"No," he replied quickly – perhaps too quickly. "I mean, I'm going alone. Since, you know…my band is playing. I won't really have a lot of time for anyone…I mean…"

Regina turns back to her books, refusing to look at him as she asks, "So, you're not going to ask Belle?"

"Belle?" Robin repeated. "What? No."

"Well, I just assumed, you would," she replied. "You did go with her to the Halloween party."

He chuckles, "That's only because Will happened upon a bunch of pick-axes…don't ask me how. And we all ended up dressing up as the seven dwarf. And rightfully, we needed a Snow White. Otherwise, it would've just been sad." He paused. "Plus, she's going to the Ball with Will."

"I see," Regina says, nodding her head. In truth, she was half scared that he would ask her, not that she'd be follow the obligation of saying 'Yes' out of politeness – because she didn't want to go the the dance with Robin Locksley. She didn't want to be around Robin Locksley at all. So, what is this feeling she has now? Knowing that he wasn't going to ask anyone at all to the dance – let alone her. Did she feel disappointed?

"But I mean, yeah," Robin continued on, not even realizing that he was on the verge of rambling. "It's totally alright to go to a dance alone. I mean, it's probably more fun…if no one asked…"

"I never said no one asked me," Regina interrupted, turning towards Robin again.

Robin's mouth forms a little 'o' as he realized his mistakes, "And I didn't mean to say that…at all. I mean, of course, someone asked you. Who wouldn't want to go with you? I mean…I would…ahh." He sighed, then looked at her sheepishly, "What's your favourite song?"

Regina raised a brow at his whole tirade, her face confused at his last question, "What?"

"What's your favourite song?" Robin repeats.

"Are you trying to change the subject?" Regina asked him, eyes narrowing.

"Is it working?" Robin quips, giving her what he hopes is a let's-not-fight-anymore smile. When she doesn't respond, he adds, "Look, I'm sorry. I was out of line with what I said. I really just wanted to ask you if you were going to the dance with anyone. No judgment. No agenda. Just conversation."

Regina nods her head. "Fine," she says.

"So, favourite song?" Robin tries, for the third time.

Regina shakes her head, turning back to their school work, "Too personal."

"Really?" Robin asked. "You've never told anyone what your favourite song is?" A pause. "How about a trade off? I can tell you mine, if you tell me yours," he added, as his request continued to be met by silence.

Regina shakes her head again, her gaze still on her notebook – as she thinks, _well…no one's really ever asked her what her favourite song was – or her favourite anything._ Then again, someone was asking now and like he'd said earlier, he was just making conversation. There can't be any harm in that; and (though she'll never admit this to anyone) she was actually enjoying herself…Robin wasn't totally that bad.

_Ugh,_ Regina thought, _she was definitely chalking up that little revelation to be the effects of the holidays season._

She eyes him as he finally gives his attention to their Chemistry textbook, apparently giving up on this quest of his of having a conversation with her. She sighs, the silence now becoming defeaning to her.

"The Way You Look Tonight, Frank Sinatra," she states.

Robin smiles wide, as he turns towards her, nodding his head. "A most excellent song," he tells her. "Good ol' Frankie. Although, if I had to choose from his repertoire, I would go with 'Fly Me To The Moon'.

She gives him a half smile and nods her head, "That's a good one, too."

"So," Robin continues, "Why that one?"

Regina sighs, swallowing the lump in her throat, "My dad used to sing it to me, before I went to bed. I was never into the whole bedtime stories stuff. It was always, 'Sing me a song, Daddy'."

Robin laughs a little, "So, it's your dad that has great taste, then."

She smacks his arm lightly, giving him a smirk – wondering to herself how he seems to just be able to draw all of this out of her.

Her friends, it would seem, were right. Robin Locksley affected her, and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why – or how? But before Regina could dwell on those thoughts, a figure appeared before the both of them, forcing them both to look away from each other.

"Daniel," Regina exclaims – as Robin glances at her quickly, noticing her voice rise an octave higher than it was normally. "What are you doing here?" she continues, as Robin spies her putting a stray trand of hair behind her ear.

He sighs, his heart feeling like it has just plummeted right down to his gut. Even though he couldn't deny that they'd made some progress with her opening up to him earlier – it wasn't like this. He chances a glance at her again, as she talks animatedly with Daniel. And there was the difference, blunt and obvious: her smile. Robin noticed it the moment she spotted Daniel standing in front of them, she's looked instantly smitten (albeit, she was trying to hide it), and that smile – she definitely wasn't holding back on it with Daniel.

He tunes back in again, removing himself from his thoughts. And although her smile was still blinding, he also now hears her voice – still an octave higher than it is normally.

"Sorry for disturbing you," Robin hears Regina say, with an apologetic tone.

He watches Daniel nods, "Sorry. I'm cramming for a test right after free period. I really need to concentrate."

"I completely understand," Regina replies, still smiling – voice still pitchy (at least to Robin's ears).

"Ahh…," Robin says now, watching as Regina's eyes eventually land on him – urging him to say something. "Yeah, sorry," he says, choosing just to repeat what Regina said.

Daniel gives both of them a nod, and heads back to his seat. As soon as he was out of earshot, Robin whispers to Regina, "Whose voice with that?"

"What?" she whispers back, chancing another glance at Daniel (who now had his head buried in a book). "That was my voice, as I was the only one speaking – you could've added more to the conversation."

"That was your voice? Really?" Robin says, as he mimicks her: "Oh, Daniel. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Regina smacks his arm again, then quickly covers the spot with her hand – as she whispers, "We need to keep it down. We're bothering people."

"You mean we're bothering Barns," Robin quips back.

"He's people," Regina retorts. "And you're wrong. I did not sound like that!"

Robin shakes his head, as he softly says, "You know, there's nothing wrong with just being you."

Regina looks at him then, her brow furrowing – his voice had been barely above a whisper, one could say he didn't say anything at all. But he did. And she heard him. She swallows the lump that she didn't know had formed in her throat, about to reply when…

"Let's just finish this Chemistry assignment, huh?" Robin says quietly, "I don't want you to waste all of your free period here with me."

She nods her head. It seems they were not going to go back to their earlier conversation – fine by her (she supposes).

They do the rest of the assignment in hushed tones, and Regina was half surprised at Robin's proficiency; he was hardly ever like this in class. And as they finally finish, Robin gathers his things quietly and quickly – giving Regina a quick wave before dashing out of the library door.

Regina was about to call out to him, as she notices the piece of paper with his band's set list still on the table – but instead, she stuffs it into her own back pack. He never did get to tell her what his favourite song was – and for some reason, that doesn't sit well with her; a feeling at the pit of her stomach she can't quite describe. _When did she start to care about knowing Robin Locksley's favourite anything?_

* * *

><p>"What is this about, Robin?" Will asks his friend (who had kept him from going home), as the two stood in front of the student council room door, way past after the last bell had rung signalling the end of the school day.<p>

"I told you already. This is about the letters we wrote to Santa back in the third grade," Robin answers, glancing up and down the hallway.

"I think you forget that I only just moved here four years ago, buddy," Will states.

Robin shakes his head, "Right…well. These letters…"

"I get the idea of letters to Santa, Robin," Will interrupts. "But are you really trying to tell me the Big Man leaves his letters inside the student council room?"

Robin sighs, opening his mouth to explain, "It's just…I need to—"

"You have a need to play Santa Claus and we're here to make someone's ten-year old Christmas wish happen?" Will finishes for him.

"Pretty much," Robin agrees. "If you really wanted to clarify."

Will nods his head, "So, we're here for Regina's letter, then." He stares at Robin, "Hey, if feared (then at Robin's glare)…I mean, respected lady leaders are your type, I totally get that."

"Actually, we're kind of here to make my Christmas wish happen," Robin states, almost matter-of-factly.

Will scratches his head then, "Well, how's that?"

"Just come on," Robin urges, not really wanting to explain all of his motives.

"Fine, fine," Will says, realizing his friend wasn't really going to give any more information. So, with a final nod, he quickly pulls something out from his pocket – finally figuring out why Robin probably wanted him here. Kneeling in front of the student council room door, Will begun to pick the lock.

Robin sighs, almost laughs, as he reaches over to turn the knob and push the door open.

"The caretaker opens all the doors after school to be cleaned," Robin states, as Will looks up at him from his knelt position.

Will brushes his pants with his hands as he stands, "Right then, in we go."

Robin makes way for Mary-Margaret's desk, opening the box and sifting quickly through the enveloped letters inside. "Aha!" he cries out, retrieving Regina's letter. He smiles briefly at the childish (but very neat) scrawl on the front, addressing the letter to Santa Claus.

Suddenly, Will is at his side, "I thought you said we were here for your Christmas wish? Why do you have Regina's letter?"

"Well…," Robin began.

"Fine, fine," Will says, watching his friend squirm. "You don't have to tell me."

Robin nods his approval then. He quickly opens the envelope, eyes skimming the letter inside – then hurriedly folds it up again as Will tried to sneak a look.

"If you won't let me read it, and you didn't need me to break in…why am I here?" Will asks.

Robin shoves the envelope into his backpack, slipping it between two textbooks, before looking up to stare at Will in the eye. "You're good friends with Daniel, right? Daniel Barns?"

Will looks at Robin quizzically, then nods his head. "Yeah. Me and Danny-boy go way back. Family friends and all."

"Well, I need you talk to him," Robin states. "That's why I asked you to come with me. I need a favour."

Will nods his head tentatively, urging Robin to continue.

"Here's what I need you to do…"

**3-**

"Do you want some punch?" Daniel asks Regina, as she seats at their table during the Christmas Ball. Regina nods her head, smiling up at him. Daniel then looks around the table, "Anyone else? Drinks?"

The others shake their head, and once he was out of earshot, Tink grabs Regina: "So, how's it going?"

"Amazing!" Regina replies, adjusting the plastic crown on her head, "Perfect, really."

"Well, that's good to hear, your Majesty…Queen of the Christmas Ball," Emma replies, bowing her head mockingly, "I am actually happy you won it…not sure what being King and Queen will do to Mary-Margaret and David."

The three ladies turn their heads to the dance floor then, watching their two friends swaying romantically to a very upbeat song. "They're sickeningly sweet sometimes," Emma continues.

"I think it's nice," Tink counters, earning an eye roll from Emma.

"Behave, you two," Regina states. "But, yeah…Daniel is perfect. I mean, I always thought he would be. He's just the perfect guy for me. Sweet, polite, and a gentleman…what else can a girl ask for?" Regina watches as Emma just shrugs, which prompts her to continue, "What?"

"Nothing," Emma says, subtly looking to Tink for support, "It's just…well, I…we…don't really know Daniel very well." She pauses, "Pretty much all I know about him is that he gives horse-riding lessons, because he's my little brother's, Henry's, teacher. And he's in the school polo team. So, I'm assuming he's really into horses. Are you? What do you guys talk about?"

Regina pauses, staring from Emma to Tink, and then to Graham (who had just sat down beside Emma, placing some drinks on the table).

She thinks back now. Daniel and she had started their conversation about the weather, then moved on to some common classes they shared together. Luckily, the evening hadn't really required a lot of conversation, so they haven't really talked about anything. Not that she would actually know what to talk about with him, besides what they've already discussed – she just now realizes.

Of course she knew that he liked horses, she used to ride, too – back when she was young. And she knew full well that Daniel was Henry's riding teacher.

She bites her inner lip as a memory nags at her mind, reminding her of a time – about a year and a half ago – when she had happily volunteered to take Henry to what she had thought were his riding lessons, only to find out that the kid had many activities –

_"Thanks, again," Emma says, handing Regina Henry's backpack. "It's just Graham had planned this date for months, and I couldn't possibly tell him I'd have to miss it."_

_Regina shrugs. "It's fine, Emma," then she looks at then eight-year-old Henry, "Me and Henry always have fun together. Right, Henry?"_

_Henry nods his head enthusiastically, "Yeah, Emma. I'll be alright with Regina today."_

_Emma rolls her eyes, "Fine, kiddo." Then she turns to her friend again, "Our parents should be home by six or so, and his lessons are done at four. If you really must be rid of him, just drop him off at David's."_

_"I don't want to go to cousin David's," Henry whines. "His girlfriend is always there and she always treats me like I'm five years old."_

_"I won't bring you to David's," Regina assures. "Now, let's go. You don't want to be late."_

_Henry gets into the car and Regina drives them both to the local community centre. Stepping out of the vehicle, Regina eyes Henry (more specifically, his baggy jeans and hoodie), "Do you have your riding stuff in a locker inside or something?"_

_Henry looks at her, "I don't have riding lessons today. It's archery day."_

_"Archery?" Regina questions, "I thought –" _

_But she doesn't finish because she hears (unfortunately) quite a familiar voice calling, "Henry!" They turn and Regina's frown deepens as she sees the person belonging to that voice. _

_Robin Locksley was wearing blue jeans, a black Henley, and a deep green vest on top – with a bow and quiver slung over his left shoulder – and attached to his right hand was the cutest little boy Regina had ever seen. _

_Robin looked surprised to see Regina, and she watches as he gulps when he get up close – __was he nervous?__ Regina has known Robin practically their whole lives and he's never been once nervous around her – cocky, annoying and obnoxious, sure; but not nervous. _

_But the moment seems to be brief, as Regina sees him square his shoulders and give her his usual cheeky grin, "Hey, Regina…I'm surprised to see you here."_

_"Emma had a date, so she couldn't make it," Henry answers for Regina, smiling at Robin. Then the boy turns to Robin's companion, giving him a high five and saying, "What's up, Roland?"_

_The boy, Roland, answers (and Regina was sure her uterus ached, as the deepest dimples grazed the boy's face, along with the sweetest voice), "I'm good, Henry." Then he's looking at her, "Hi! I'm Roland. I don't know who you are."_

_Regina lowers to the boy's level, holding out her hand, "My name is Regina. It's very nice to meet you, Roland." _

_She watches as the boy scrunches his face, a look of familiarity crossing his tiny face as he hears her name, then, as if he's had his 'Eureka' moment, he opens his mouth and says, "You're –"_

_"Hey, Roland," Robin suddenly interrupts, also watching the kid's face. "Do you want ice cream?"_

_Roland tears his gaze off Regina and stares at Robin, "Now? Really? Even if Mommy said –"_

_Robin nods enthusiastically, "Well, maybe not now. After today's lesson, for sure. Just don't tell your mother."_

_Regina raises an eyebrow at that, and she hisses at Robin (as the two boys run ahead inside the community centre) "Is that really your call?"_

_"He's technically my nephew," Robin replies. "He's my cousin's, Marian's, son. I watch him while she's at work." He smiles at her, "Plus, it'll just be one scoop. And if Henry hits the target today, he'll get one, too."_

_"It would spoil their dinner," Regina tells him._

_"They're growing boys," Robin says, with a wink. "Trust me, it won't. They can have the ice cream and still both be able to finish at leat three pizza slices. Just wait and see." He opens the door then, bowing slightly as he gestures to Regina, "After you, Milady."_

_Regina scowls at him, but enters nonetheless – only to be met by the eager faces (Henry and Roland amongst them) of who she could assume to be Robin's students._

_"Hey guys!" Robin greets, "How are you all doing today?"_

_A chorus of 'Fine' and 'Good' are heard from the children as Regina stands there, awkwardly at the front of the class. She attempts to finally move off to the side until a girl (the only girl in the class, Regina notices) puts up her hand._

_"Yes, Ruby?" Robin says, addressing the child by name._

_"Who is she?" Ruby asks, pointing an arrow at Regina. _

_"Yeah," a short and rotund boy adds. "Is she your girlfriend?"_

_Regina was a little stunned, squaring her shoulders and giving the group of kids a tight smile. _

_Robin laughs, looking at Regina briefly before turning to the kids. "Now, Leroy…you know that I have only one rule in this class. You must put your hand up if you want to speak." A pause. "Putting your hand up now doesn't count." Then he gestures to Regina, "This is Regina…she's a…she's…"_

_"I'm Henry's sister's friend," Regina continues for him. "Definitely, definitely not his girlfriend." _

_Robin nods his head, "You heard her kids…not my girlfriend." _

_"But have you shown her your archery skills?" the boy named Leroy asked, snickering within his group of friends – all kind of short and rotund, Regina notices. _

_"Alright, alright," Robin states. "Settle down, everyone. And Leroy…that is enough from you." He unslings his own bow and says, "Everybody get to your post. Start warming up." He turns to Regina, then, "Are you going to sit in the sidelines or give it a try?"_

_Regina takes an involuntary step back, unsure of the sincerity in his eyes – have they always been that clear and blue; and since when did Robin Locksley have dimples? "I, uhh," she stammers, "I'll stick by Henry."_

_Robin nods, "Alright, well…this kids are pretty much able. I'm more of an observer now, less of a teacher. So, just holler if you need me."_

_Regina walks over to where Henry was, focused and eyes glued to the target. Regina watches him for some minutes, taking in his stance and the surprising power the boy seemed to possess as he let each arrow fly – all of them quite close to the target. Emma's little brother held her full attention, until she feels someone tugging at her shirt. She looks down and sees Robin's nephew staring up at her._

_"Hi, Gina!" Roland says, "Do you know how to shoot?"_

_Regina smiles at the boy's shortened version of her name. She shakes her head, "No. I can't say that I do, Roland. How about you?"_

_He nods enthusiastically, whipping out his small bow equipped with rubber arrows, and lets one fly. "See?" he says, "I'm good, right?"_

_"You're awesome," Regina says._

_"Uncle Robin taught me," Roland states proudly. "He's really good. You should get him to teach you, too." Then before Regina could stop him, he's already calling for his uncle, "Uncle Robin! Uncle Robin!"_

_Robin turns from where he was observing one of the other boys and looks over. "You have to teach Gina how to shoot, Uncle Robin!" Roland continues to yell across the room._

_Regina begins to shake her head, her hand-eye coordination was not the best – but Robin was already making his way over, all the kids' attention now focused on her. _

_"I'm not –," Regina starts, as Robin approached her (she, again, startled by his smile)._

_"Don't worry," the boy named Leroy tells Regina, "Robin can teach anyone…"_

_Regina grimaces at him – thinking: Yeah, he taught you. But she didn't want to fight with a nine-year old and so she says, "Thanks, Leroy."_

_"Here," Henry says, standing beside Regina, "You can use my bow."_

_Robin looks on, "You seem to have an audience, Regina. I think it best if you at least tried."_

_"Fine," Regina states, facing the target and trying to emulate what she had seen Henry do earlier – but the bow was surprisingly heavy; and where in the heck does the arrow go? _

_Suddenly, she feels Robin come up behind her, his hand light at her elbow. Regina almost jumps at the contact, but he basically traps her in his arms. His voice was in her ear, guiding her softly. Regina was finding it quite hard, paying attention to what he was saying – but she was weirdly very aware of the heat that seemed to be pouring out of his body. _

_"Relax," Robin tells her (but inside, his own heart was beating wildly in his chest). "Just point, keep your eye on the target, and let go." He watches as Regina nods, letting the arrow fly._

_"I did it," she cried out, her face awed._

_"Well, technically, we would like to hit the target, but – yeah, I guess you did it," Robin states, but his own smile takes over at seeing her jump up and down, grabbing Henry and Roland to do the same._

_"So, is she your girlfriend now?" Ruby asks, not bothering to raise her hand this time._

_Robin shakes his head. "No, Ruby." _

_"Not yet," Regina hears Leroy lean over to whisper to his group of friends – causing Regina to widen her eyes (these kids were little gossips). _

_Robin gestures to the group again, "Everybody back to your targets. Now!"_

_The next hour of the lessons, Regina spends most of her time with Roland – trading funny stories with the small boy. He was very willing to talk about his Uncle Robin, making it very clear that the boy idolized his uncle. _

_Pretty soon, though, the class was over – parents, grandparents, and everyone in between coming to pick up their children. Then, it was just Henry, Robin, Regina, and Roland. _

_"Great job today, Henry," Robin says, patting the boy on the back as they walked to where Regina and Roland were sitting at the sidelines. _

_"Yeah," Regina agrees. "You're really good."_

_"Well, he has a great teacher," Robin states, giving Henry a high-five._

_Henry looks between the two of them, "So, you two go to school together, right?"_

_Regina nods, "Yup."_

_"We've gone to school together since kindergarten," Robin adds._

_"But you guys never hang out," Henry presses on, looking at them both. "I mean, you guys have the same friends – like, you're both friends with Emma and Graham. So, why's that?"_

_Robin stammers, "Ah…I'd say…things are a bit rocky between us at school, Henry."_

_"How come?" this time the questions comes from Roland – he was looking at Regina intently: "Uncle Robin is really nice and he has a band, and that's cool…he says."_

_Henry nods, looking at Regina, who places the boy in front of her – grabbing him by the shoulders. She looks at Robin, "Well, a band is very cool. And you seem to be nicer outside of school." Then she drops her voice to a whisper, "Where you're not constantly being your annoying self."_

_Robin laughs. "Well, there you have it kids. You've just witnessed the start of new friendship." Then putting an arm around Roland, he says, "Now, who wants ice cream?"_

_The four of them head over to the community centre's cafeteria, with Robin and Henry insisting they will grab a scoop for everyone. Regina stays with Roland, the two of them sitting at a table. Once the two arrive with their treats, Regina couldn't help but watch Robin tend to Roland. He was very attentive, making sure the boy didn't make a mess (probably because he was trying to avoid his cousin finding out about the boy's untimely dessert); but this was definitely a different side to him. _

_He catches her staring and smiles at her (again, those dimples). Regina almost returns it; but her phone ringing almost makes her jump in her seat – _

Mary-Margaret slams the box of letters down on their table, making Regina actually jump out of her seat – the memory fading – the noise returning her to the reality of the Christmas Ball.

"I'm handing out everyone's letters now," Mary-Margaret states decisively. Regina watches her friend go through the stack, giving out letters to everyone in the table. Then Regina watches as she frowns, quickly sifting through again; then she says, "Yours isn't here, Regina."

Regina frowns, "How come?" She grabs the box from in front of Mary-Margaret, perusing the letters herself, "Where would mine be?"

"Woah! Calm down, Regina," Emma says, eyeing her friend looking frantically through the envelopes . "What is in that letter? Didn't you say you asked for a pony or something?"

Regina stops looking and stares at the blonde; then she looks up to where Daniel was standing at the punch bowl, conversing with Will Scarlet. She stands suddenly, telling everyone in the group, "I'll be right back."

"Do you know what's in the letter, Tink?" Graham asks, then – a look of concern in his eyes as he watches Regina stalk over towards the drinks table.

Tink shakes her head, "I don't." Then allowing her gaze to follow Regina, "But I think Regina's got it handled.

"I think that's what we're worried about," Emma adds.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Regina," Daniel greets, as she turns to face her, holding two glasses of punch in each hand.<p>

"We need to talk," Regina states, grabbing the drinks from his hands and placing them back on the table. She glares at the lingering form of Will Scarlet who seems to get the message quickly – scampering off towards the main stage.

Regina drags Daniel out of the school gymnasium and down the hallway, finally stopping underneath the stairs. "Why did you ask me to the Ball?"

Daniel stammered his answer, "Uhm…because I wanted to."

Regina nods, "Alright, why did you ask me the way you did? You know, the card shaped like horse taped to my locker, with a message asking me to the Ball…then I turned around and you were there, holding three roses. What gave you that idea?"

"I…uhm," Daniel says, looking at Regina nervously. Then he sighs, staring her right in the eye. "Look, Regina. I like you. I do. I mean, I think I've liked you for a while now – and I know you like me back. I truly did want to ask you the Ball. And then…"

"Answer the question, please."

"Well, the idea came from my friend, Will," Daniel replied. "Will Scarlet." A pause. "Why?"

"Did you say that you know I like you back?" Regina asked, eyes going wide.

"Well…" Daniel begins his stammering again.

Regina takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, "What else, exactly, did Will Scarlet have to say?"

"He just told me that he had it from a very good source that you may be harbouring a crush on me, and that your Christmas wish was for us to go to the Ball together," Daniel replies, giving Regina a weak smile. "And I wanted that, too, Regina. Truly."

He takes her hands in his then, closing the gap between them, as his lips meets hers.

Regina closes her eyes instinctively, waiting for the usual warm feeling she would feel with just imagining Daniel kissing her – but she feels none of that. So she pulls away slowly, allowing her eyes to open and meet his.

Suddenly, a different pair of blue eyes flashes across her mind – these ones accompanied by dimples and cheeky grin.

Her mind works on overdrive now: Will Scarlet had no reason to be meddling about in her business, but she knew only one person that he would do favours for.

Allowing her hands to fall from Daniel's grasp, she meets his eyes, "Look, Daniel…I just have to take care of something." She smiles at him, "I promise I'll be right 'll only take a moment."

Daniel nods his head slowly, watching as Regina heads back towards the gymnasium.

She bypassed the main doors, continuing around the corner to the room where she knew Robin and his band were keeping all of their musical equipment.

The room was dark, but the curtains were open – casting enough light into the room, a mix of the full moon and the snow outside.

As Regina entered, she could just make out where Robin had haphazardly thrown his schoolbag – she recognized it as the one covered with an abundant amount of pins. And there, sticking out of the front pocket, was the corner of a white envelope. Regina grabs it, frown deepening as she looks at the familiar writing.

_Her letter to Santa! Hers!_

Suddenly, the door of the room opens and someone turns on the light switch. Regina turns to meet the intruder and practically snarls as she sees it's him.

"Robin Locksley," she states – hands at her waist, her stance angry. "Or should I say, the thief!"

Robin, still very much surprised to see Regina in the room at all, took a second to compose himself. The sight of her so close to him almost took his breath away. And despite her very obvious angry stance, the first word that came to Robin's mind was: _stunning_.

Finally, he shook himself out of his reverie – squaring his shoulders and meeting her stance, "Regina? What are you doing here?" Then eyeing the crown still perched on her head, he smirks, adding, "Oh wait, pardon me, I mean your Majesty."

"Don't joke with me, Robin," Regina says, as she waves the letter in front of him, "What is this doing in your bag?"

Robin's eyes widen. He gulps. Then he takes a step closer, "What are you doing looking inside my bag?"

"Really?" Regina replies. "That's the best response you can come up with?" Then she huffs, "What were you trying to do? Please, explain. I need to understand. Why steal my letter? Why tell Will to tell Daniel to ask me to Ball? I don't – "

"You really don't know?" Robin asked her, and Regina couldn't quite read the expression on his face, but she doesn't miss the intensity of it.

She shakes her head, "No! Are you trying to embarrass me? Did you think Daniel would refuse or be a terrible date? Was your plan to humiliate me? What?"

Robin opens his mouth to respond but no sound came out. He tries not to grimace at the fact that her first thought about him is always on the negative side. He shakes his head silently – he's sure now, more than ever, that she barely even considers him as an acquaintance. He was merely a nuisance to her.

Regina sighs, as she watches Robin just stand there – stunned, it would seem – in front of her. So she continues, "Because the joke is on you, you know. (And Robin finally looks up to meet her eyes) Because Daniel actually likes me, he just said it…**he kissed me** and he told me that he liked me. So whatever childish prank you had planned, it's not going to happen!"

Robin clenches his jaw at her revelation, nodding his head. Regina watches as he he moves his gaze downwards again, his shoulders slumping, and then he sighed.

His eyes looked weary, devoid of any real emotion as he meets Regina's gaze again, "You're right. That's exactly it. It was my grand plan for a Christmas prank." Robin's frown deepens, as he continues, "I had planned for Daniel to ask you to the Ball, then embarrass you right in the middle of it – but since he apparently genuinely likes you, he refused. And you're right…I am the fool."

Regina marches up to him, "You're –. I thought…"

But she doesn't finish, instead, just chooses to stalk out of the door, slamming it soundly behind her.

**4-**

It was Christmas day – or night – and Regina was sitting on her bed, deep in thought. She had excused herself at the earliest possible moment after their family dinner, choosing instead to spend time alone in her room.

Suddenly, she hears a tapping at her balcony window and almost had a heart attack as she saw Tink standing out there.

Opening the window quickly, she ushers her friend into her room, "What are you doing? How did you even get up there?"

"I put up a ladder," Tink replies quickly – nonchalantly – as she begins to remove her coat.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asks earnestly, still wide-eyed.

"I'm here to find out what happened at the Ball," Tink says. "You left to talk to Daniel, and then he came back, without you. Then you came back, really angry…only you were trying to hide it from Daniel. But we could all tell. And…and no one's heard from you all Christmas break. So? What happened?"

Regina shakes her head, sitting on her bed and refusing to look at Tink.

"Alright," Tink states, "then does it have something to do with this?"

Regina chances a glance, and watches as the blonde pulls out a white envelope from her coat pocket.

"I found my third-grade letter to Santa, Tink," she says.

"I know," the blonde replies. "This isn't yours." She pauses, looking at Regina in the eye: "It's Robin's."

Regina fumes, standing up as she exclaims, "Why do you have that?"

"I think you should read it."

"Why?" Regina asks, hands on her hips. "Why would I want to read some no-good, thieving, conniving, manipulative –"

Tink opens the envelope, takes out the letter and reads out loud, despite Regina's tirade: "Dear Santa. For Christmas, I want you to make Regina smile. With respect, Robin."

Regina stops her ongoing rant, staring at her friend, "What?"

"I guess in the ten years he wrote this, Robin realized that Santa wasn't real – and it was up to him to fulfill his own Christmas wish," Tink says. "Which, thereby, kind of means making your wish come true. That's what he did, right? He made your Christmas wish come true?"

Regina was speechless, looking at Tink with wide eyes, "That's not what he said…to me. When I asked him…"

"Well, what actually happened?"

The brunette sighed, sitting on her bed again and began to tell her best friend the whole story. When she finished, Tink said, "Wow. No wonder he responded that way."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked, confused.

"Regina!" Tink said, grabbing her friend by the shoulders and giving her a shake, "Robin likes you. He likes you!" And at Regina's wide eyes, Tink continues: "He's actually probably in love with you. But he knew that you've always liked Daniel, so he put aside his own feelings to try and give you your 'happily-ever-after'." She paused. "And you basically threw that all in his face."

Regina shook her head, "No…Robin doesn't like me. He likes to annoy me. I mean…"

"Oh come on, Regina," Tink says. "I know we tease you about him. But aren't we right? He affects you, you seem to be very aware of his every move – without even realizing it. Don't you think that maybe, deep down, you feel something for him? Besides anger and annoyance…"

Regina swallows the lump that had formed in her throat – Tink's words affecting her more than she thought they would.

"Ever think the reason why he would make all those mistakes in Chemistry class is so that he could spend more time with you?" Tink continues. "That could also be why he only ever seems to need a tutor in Math when you're available."

Regina looks at Tink, who continues, "And then, there was your birthday last year…"

"What about it?" Regina asks, her brow furrowing because she never told Tink about what happened.

"I followed you," Tink said simply.

Regina sighs, remembering –

_Here she was, the birthday girl, spending her special day sitting like a literal lump-on-a-log in the middle of the park. She knew it wasn't proper etiquette – that it was definitely rude of her to slip out of her own party. But she couldn't help it, she felt like she was suffocating. _

_She stuffed her hand into her right coat pocket, frowning as she fails to feel her cellphone. She could've sworn she put it in there. Then, suddenly – _

_"Looking for this?" _

_Regina clutches her heart as she almost falls off the log. She glares at Robin Locksley, who was now standing in front of her, her cellphone in his hand. __What was he even doing here?_

_She makes a grab for her device, but instead, he sat down beside her on the log – still holding onto her phone. _

_"Do you mind?" Regina says, a hint of annoyance in her voice as she gestures for her phone. "What are you even doing here?"_

_Robin sighs, still not letting go off the phone, as he points to the guitar case he had strapped to his back. "I play my music here," he replies easily. "My mom doesn't like it when I play in the house – especially when I'm just learning a song."_

_Regina raised an eyebrow, shaking her head, "Can I please have my phone?"_

_"Are you going to tell me why you've had your ear pressed into it the whole way here?"_

_She glared at him, "Are you following me?"_

_"Well, not intentionally," Robin replies. "But as there is only one path into the forest…I really didn't have a choice." He paused, "It was lucky I was behind you though, seeing as how you dropped your phone along the way – almost lost it in a bush, actually."_

_Regina shakes her head, her annoyance increasing by the minute, "Just give me back my phone, Locksley."_

_"You know," he says, "I think you want to talk about whatever it was you were listening to on this phone."_

_"What makes you say that?"_

_"Because," Robin chuckles, "The Regina that I know would've wrestled this out of my hands by now."_

_Regina was taken aback by his words, but she wasn't about to voice a confirmation to his assumptions out loud. Thus, she looks at him blankly as he asks: "So, can I listen?"_

_"Why do you even care?" Regina questions him. _

_Robin swallows the lump at his throat, and replies, "I just…I just. I just do."_

_"Fine then," she says, "Go ahead."_

_He hits redial on her phone, and stays quiet as the robotic voice announces one saved message; and then it's the voice of Mrs. Mills that comes off the phone speakers: "Hello, my dear. I just called to say that I am so very proud of you, my darling daughter. Today is such a special day. Congratulations! I cannot wait to celebrate with you when you come back home. Love you , my dear."_

_"I'm guessing that was…," Robin begins._

_"For my sister," Regina finishes. She sighs, "It's my birthday and I don't even get a greeting. Instead, my mother misdials, leaves a message for my sister on my phone – congratulating Zelena on gosh knows what; most likely, for just exisiting!" _

_Robin looks at her, "You shouldn't let it get you down."_

_"She's my mother," Regina says, indignant. "If she can't even remember her own daughter's birthday…"_

_"So what do you make of all your friends who are at your house right now?" Robin presses her, "The people who are actually there for you, celebrating your special day?"_

_"What are you saying?" Regina asks._

_"I'm asking you to look at what's right in front of you, Regina," Robin said, his blue eyes shining in such a way that sends shivers down Regina's back._

_"What are you saying?" she repeats, softer…a whisper._

_"Appreciate what you have…who you have. I'm saying that you have a lot of people who care about you," Robin replies. "Focus on that. Focus on them."_

_"And it's that easy?"_

_Robin nods, supportively, "If you want it be. I mean, the first step is just to head back your party and have a good time. Sounds easy enough, right?"_

_Regina turns away from him, but she absorbs his words. __By the gods__, she thought, __Robin Locksley was actually make some sense__. He wasn't dismissing what her mother had done, he was just suggesting for her to move her attention on the positive. And he was right – she had a lot of good things in her life, a lot of amazing people..who care about her._

_"When did you get so smart?" Regina says teasingly. _

_Robin gives her a smile, handing her back her cellphone, "It's the fresh air, I think." _

_Regina nods, "Sounds about right. We should suggest having classes outside for you. Maybe then, you'll actually finish an assignment on time."_

_Robin chuckles, "Ahh…there's the Regina I know."_

_"The one that will wrestle about you," she retorts, without much thought about how it sounded._

_Robin smirks at her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, as Regina rolls her eyes at him – finally moving to stand up from her position on that log. _

_"I think they're probably about to bring out your cake by now," Robin comments, "You should go."_

_Regina nods, biting her lip – unsure of what to say or do at this point. Finally she relents, "Thank you, Robin."_

_Robin nods his head, "Anytime, Mills…but next time your interrupt my practice session, you're going to have to owe me a favour."_

_"What makes you think there'll be a next time?"_

_Robin just shrugs, swinging his guitar from his back and motioning for Regina to hurry on back to her party, "You really should go."_

_Regina nods, walking away from Robin's sitting form – an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach, as if she's just left a vital part of her behind. Part of her thinks the right thing to do would be to ask him to go with her, to join her birthday celebration. After all the help he's given, he should at least get some cake out of it. _

_So she turns back, about to call his name but he was already hunched over his guitar – his hands working on tuning the instrument. __He really was serious about practicing,__ she thought. _

_And so, she continues on her way, back down the path – out of the forest and into civilization. And then she hears it, the first strum of his guitar. It stops her in her tracks, and her face breaks into a smile at the familiarity of the tune – followed closely by his voice: "Happy Birthday to you…"_

"I was about two steps ahead of you that night, I actually thought I was going to trip and you'd just find me there" Tink was saying to Regina. "I mean, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on the both of you, but, it was kind of odd at that point. Seeing the two of you, not at each other's throat." Tink paused, "Of course, we had all followed you that night –as you probably remember. Robin just go to you first."

Regina nods her head, recalling all of her friends standing there in the clearing as she'd exited the trail leading to the forest. She remembers smiling to herself then, seeing her friends all there had really drove Robin's message home for her.

Now, Regina sighs…staring at her best friend, "Well, what should I do? I mean he didn't have to lie to me about his motives. Which if we really think about it are a little selfish. The only reason he wanted to make my Christmas wish happen is so that his own Christmas wish would happen."

"An eight-year old Robin was willing to give you his Christmas wish. He didn't ask Santa for a toy gun or a new bike…he asked that Santa Claus make you smile. Come on, Regina!"

Regina sighed, "I…I don't know what I should –." A pause. "I mean, I don't even know where he is."

"Oh," Tink said, with a shrug. "That's an easy one. His band just played a Christmas gig at the community centre – the one for the orphanage and the senior centre."

"What were you doing there?" Regina asked.

Tink nods. "Killian invited me. It was quite nice, actually. You should go next year."

Regina narrowed her eyes, and shook her head. "Never mind that. How do you know he's still there?"

"I'm sure they're still cleaning up," Tink replied.

"What would I even say to him?"

Tink took her best friend's hand in hers, saying, "How about just starting with a 'Merry Christmas'?

**5 -**

Regina parked the car right outside of the community centre. She could see that the place looked almost deserted. She turns to Tink, "Are you sure about this?"

Tink shuddered in the cold winter air. "Yes, yes," she said, dragging Regina towards the doors of the community centre.

"It's awfully late," Regina said, as they reached the entrance, "And it's Christmas…or well, what's left of it. I really doubt this place would still be open."

"Have a little faith," Tink said, reaching into her purse, "I've got a key."

"Where did you get a key?"

"I borrowed Graham's," Tink replied easily. "He works here, remember? And as you know, he's quite supportive of Robin and you."

"Were you all here earlier?" Regina asked.

Tink nodded her head, "You missed quite a party, actually. So, next time…make sure to answer your phone and reply to our messages." And as she finally opened the door, Tink urged Regina inside, "Now, come on."

Regina took a deep breath, unsure herself of why she was so nervous. She was here, as Tink said, she was here to merely wish Robin a 'Merry Christmas' – and that's that. She would greet him and they (her and Tink) would be on their way. And that was all she was here to do.

The community centre was dark when they entered, as was to be expected.

"Where to now?" Regina asked her best friend.

"Just follow the green glitter," Tink said with a laugh, pointing to the floor. "They really overdid the decorations with these glittery garlands."

Regina nods along, following this glowing green path to…to what? To Robin? To…to do what, exactly?

"Okay, we're here," Tink says, motioning for Regina to hurry – as she had already reached the door of the gymnasium; while her friend still took slow steps towards their destination.

The blonde used this time to peek inside through the glass on the door; and sure enough, there was Robin and his band, cleaning up what was left of the band's equipment. She quickly fished out her phone, typing up a quick message to get the plan into motion.

Meanwhile Regina has caught up and now also looked through the glass, pressing her face close to Tink's. Regina saw Robin inside, packing up, with all of his friends and she instantly shook her head.

"I can't do this, Tink," she says, "I don't even know what to say to him. Do I burst in there to greet him and leave…like…what? Who does that?"

"Follow your heart," Tink replied.

Regina gave the blonde a dead-pan expression, "What?"

"Look, Regina," Tink said, "I know you…I've know you our whole lives. Since we were in diapers, in fact." A pause. "You know what you're going to do. Just take a deep breath, open that door, and…go for it."

Regina takes a deep breath, "And you'll be right out here?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Tink said – then she frowns, "I might visit the bathroom briefly, but that's only because I drank like half of the punchbowl tonight…but yeah, I'll be here."

"Thanks," Regina said (another deep breath).

* * *

><p>"How about we bring all these to the car, huh, boys?" Killian asked, motioning his hands towards the band equipment.<p>

"Killian," Robin said, frowning, "what are you still even doing here?"

"Helping out?" Killian answered. "I'm starting my good deeds for the next Christmas. I've decided I don't want coal in my stocking next year."

Robin nods his head slowly, eyeing his friends – namely Will and John. It was a sound plan. They had almost everything packed up – getting things to the car would definitely speed up the process. And so, Robin replied with: "Okay, you guys can go ahead and take all that's already ready to go."

His friends nodded their heads, loading everything up in a trolley – which Robin watched them wheel out of the gymnasium's doors, the ones that lead directly to the parking lot. With his attention completely in that direction, he had missed the other set of doors opening and closing.

And so, it was with a startled jump that he turned when he heard a familiar someone clearing their throat.

Instantly, he swallowed the lump that had quickly formed at his throat (at just the mere sight of her). He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He took a deep breath and tried again, watching as she just continued to walk towards him: "Reg…Regina…what…what are you doing here?"

No response. She was just staring at him.

In truth, Regina's head was currently a puzzle of everything that's happened in the last week or so. Her mind swam with all of it:

_ 'He affects you, you seem to be very aware of his every move – without even realizing it.'_

_'He's actually probably in love with you. But he knew that you've always liked Daniel, so he put aside his own feelings to try and give you your 'happily-ever-after'. And you basically threw that all in his face.'_

_'You. Robin. Chemistry. Come on, Mills.'_

_'We don't always talk about him. You do! You know, for someone who apparently hates him…you talk about him quite a bit.'_

_'The next guy you meet that you're remotely interested in, kiss him…grab him and kiss him.'_

"Look, Regina," Robin started talking again, taking a tentative step towards her, "I'm really sorry about what happened at the Ball. If it ruined your Christmas, I'm truly sorry. I…I don't…I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't…wasn't thinking, I mean…I guess. I'm…"

_'Kiss him…grab him and kiss him.'_

Regina erases the space between them, grabbing Robin by the green scarf he wore and she kissed him.

She kissed him. She initiated the kiss!

Her lips on his lips, right there…in the middle of the Storybrooke's community centre gymnasium.

His lips were a lot softer than she'd expected, he tasted like candy canes and hot chocolate – and his smell was intoxicating, this close, she could smell pine and maple.

And when he finally got the message, beginning to finally respond to her kiss by softly nipping at her bottom lip, Regina thought her knees would give way. Luckily, Robin's left arm has wound around her waist, his grasp on her tightening and loosening rhythmically.

After several minutes (and largely just through a complete lack of oxygen), Regina drew back, ending the kiss with a audible puck.

Both of their eyes open at the loss of contact. Now, they were staring at each other, breathing deeply – chests heaving with each breath.

"Mistletoe," she whispered, her voice cracking – so she cleared her throat.

"Wha –" Robin said, still unsure of his own voice; he could still feel her lips on his – actually, he never wanted to lose that feeling.

Regina pointed up, and said more clearly: "A mistletoe."

Robin blinks, looks up, and nods his head (almost dumbly). "Right," he said, "Can't say no to traditions."

"No," Regina agreed. "Traditions should be upheld."

"I agree," Robin uttered, his eyes looking deeply into hers. "So…"

Regina shook her head from her reverie, the kiss still very much affecting her. "I…," she started. Then she took the white envelope from her pocket, "I have your letter."

Robin took the familiar envelope from her outstretched hand, "Ahh, I'm assuming you've read it."

"Well," Regina said, "It was actually Tink that read it, out loud…and I just happened to be in the vicinity."

Robin nods his head slowly, "Okay."

"I just…," Regina said, "I just…" Then she beamed at him, giving him a wide smile: "I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas."

Robin, for his part, tried his hardest to not smile quite as widely but he couldn't help it, his dimples dipping deeply in his cheeks. "Cutting it close there, don't you think?" he joked.

Regina glanced at the clock on the gymnasium wall – the flashing red numbers read 23:00, and so she replied, "It's eleven o'clock. On the dot. Still an hour left of Christmas, technically." She paused, giving him another smile, "Better late than never, right?"


End file.
